Pettersson 'not worried' about contract negotiations with Canucks

Vancouver Canucks restricted free-agent forward Elias Pettersson remains confident a deal is going to get done with the club that drafted him.

Pettersson weighed in on the discussions between his camp and the team with a Swedish news outlet on Wednesday.

"My agents do all the talking (with the Canucks), and then they inform me about what’s going on. Right now, we're not in an agreement, but I'm not worried that we're not going to solve it eventually," Pettersson said, as translated by Hockeysverige's Uffe Bodin. "Both parties need to be happy in order to find a solution, but I'm not worried about that."

The 22-year-old was limited to just 26 games this past season due to a wrist injury and registered 21 points. A two-time All-Star already in his young career, Pettersson put up 66 points in his previous two seasons in Vancouver.

"I want to stay there (Vancouver) now, but I also want to play for a team that's winning and has the chance to go far into the playoffs every year. I feel like we've got a chance to do that next year," he said. "If we have that chance when my next deal expires … I don’t know. I just wanna play where there's a chance of winning."

Pettersson has made the playoffs once with the Canucks and said he would have been able to play with the aid of painkillers if Vancouver made the postseason in 2020-21.

"I'm extremely hungry for revenge. I haven't played a single game since March 2," he said, according to writers at NHL.com. "For sure, this definitely was my most frustrating season. But it feels good now, there will be no problems whatsoever to start next season ... I'm completely recovered."

Vancouver currently has a little over $13 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly, but can free up an extra $3.5 million by placing Micheal Ferland on long-term injured reserve when the season begins. They still have to pay fellow restricted free agents Jason Dickinson and defensive dynamo Quinn Hughes.

The Swedish talent is considered a top offer sheet target this offseason.