NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks — Elias Pettersson opens up on trade talks between the Canucks and Hurricanes (Image credit: Imagn)

$92,800,000 worth Elias Pettersson reflects on life in Vancouver after flirting with Carolina Hurricanes trade

Modified Jul 18, 2024 09:36 GMT

Earlier this year, Elias Pettersson's name popped up in trade talks, with reports indicating that the Carolina Hurricanes had made a trade offer to the Canucks.

Pettersson ultimately went on to sign a historic eight-year $92.8 million contract with Vancouver. But reports have suggested that the Hurricanes' offer was nothing to scoff at.

With Elias Pettersson under contract with the Vancouver Canucks until the 2032-33 season, his focus is on helping the team make the push to the Stanley Cup Final. As he enjoys the offseason leading up to the 2024-25 season, Pettersson caught up with Simon Eld of the Sundsvall Newspaper.

The center opened up on a number of topics, from the skills camp he hosts in Ange, Sweden, to the season ahead with the Canucks. He believes that the team is in a great spot heading into next season with plenty of young talent:

“We have something good going on now. Life in Vancouver is great. We have something good going on now. We have very good players, good coaches, our new general manager, Patrik Allvin, and since president Jim Rutherford came here, the club has been turned upside down for the better.

"We were close to reaching a conference final last season, but now it’s just a matter of building on [that]."

"Definitely not satisfied" - GM Patrik Allvin on Vancouver Canucks' exit from playoffs following Elias Pettersson extension

Elias Pettersson finished last season averaging over a point per game, marking his second straight year doing so. While the center's regular season success was impressive and earned him a lucrative contract, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin wasn't happy with how the season ended for Vancouver.

After finishing the regular season with a 50-23-9 record that saw them win the Pacific Division, the team met the Nashville Predators in the first round.

The Canucks were able to capture a 4-2 series win, advancing to the second round where they met the Edmonton Oilers.

The team struggled to replicate its success, falling in a seven-game series to the eventual Western Conference Champions. While speaking to media members following Pettersson's extension in March, and the team's postseason exit, Allvin explained:

"I'm not happy sitting here today. Definitely not satisfied. We lost our last game, and it was only in round two. ... You don't know how many chances you're going to have to play in a Game 7.

"My message to the players is this is something you've got to bear with you the whole summer that we lost our last game, and it was only round two. It's just going to get harder."

Since then, Allvin and the rest of Vancouver's front office have gone to work. They have bolstered the roster they've built around Elias Pettersson in hopes of a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run next year.