JP Barry says he expects a slow summer on discussions about a new contract for Canucks star forward
According to the agent for Elias Pettersson, there are no imminent plans to meet with the Vancouver Canucks to discuss an extension for his client. JP Barry told CHEK 6 television on Wednesday that he doesn't anticipate any discussions until the end of the summer at the earliest.
"We had some initial talks with the team just about timing only," Barry told the Donnie and Dhali Show. "We had a really rough free agent market the last little while and the draft. It's something that will get started up again later this summer, but I think right now we've just got to get through this period."
Barry says he's planning to head to Los Angeles next week to meet with his partner and fellow agent Pat Brisson. He expects the Pettersson contract will be among the topics discussed internally. However, he isn't anticipating opening discussions on a deal with Patrik Allvin and the Canucks until much closer to the start of the hockey season.
"We're all going to take a bit of a break here," Barry explained. "When we get through July, it's been a long, long year. If we do it, it'll probably be later in the summer. Anything is possible, but we've done that several times before where we've gone through the summer and had meetings in early September before camps start up."
Pettersson, who turns 25 this fall, is coming off a career-best 39 goals and 102 points and is entering the final year of a 3-year contract that carries a $7.35M cap hit. In his five seasons with the Canucks, he has appeared in the playoffs just once -- in the Edmonton bubble in 2020.
Despite the lack of team success, Barry says Pettersson is content with the Canucks. But is quick to add that his client wants to win.
"He wants to see progress -- just like all the players do," Barry said. "He's not alone. He wants to win. He likes the group that he's with and hopefully they can improve upon it. There are pieces there. He likes the city. There are a lot of things we'll have to discuss when we get into talking about an extension."
If Pettersson starts into the final year of his deal without an extension, it will place significant importance on the Canucks start to the schedule. The organization can not open the season like it has the last two years when it has fallen out of playoff contention before Christmas.