Swedish star says he's still considering all options as training camp approaches

It sounds like Elias Pettersson wants to see the direction the Vancouver Canucks are headed before committing to the hockey club. Pettersson has told Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman that he is content to start into the upcoming season without a contract extension.

The 24-year-old addressed his future in Vancouver at the National Hockey League/NHLPA European media tour in Stockholm.

"I’m not in a rush to sign," Pettersson told Friedman. "I got one more year there and I don’t want to rush into anything."

Pettersson is entering the final year of a three-year bridge deal worth $7.35M per season and will become a restricted free agent next summer. He's coming off a season in which he amassed career bests for goals (39) assists (62) and points (102) and finished 10th in league scoring.

He's eligible to sign an extension with the Canucks at any time, but clearly wants to take a wait and see approach in terms of the type of team the front office has assembled. The Canucks have made the playoffs just once in Pettersson's five NHL seasons and that was the 2020 bubble in Edmonton where he excelled with 18 points in 17 post-season games.

While many expect the Canucks to push for a maximum eight year term for their star centre whenever the two sides sit down for talks, Pettersson raised some eyebrows with the suggestion of a shorter deal.

"I still don’t know myself if it’s going to be short-term or long-term," he said. "It’s gonna be probably my biggest contract so far and so I don’t want to stress anything. All summer I’m just trying to prepare myself as much as possible with training, trying to gain a little bit of weight, some muscles, and especially get off to a good start with a team.”

The last time Pettersson entered the final year of his contract was the 2020-21 All Canadian division season when he struggled out of the gate and later admitted the contract uncertainty weighed on him. He was eventually shut down after just 26 games that season with a wrist injury that limited him to 10 goals and 21 points.

This time around the stakes -- and the dollar figures -- are substantially higher for both Pettersson and the hockey club.