The Vancouver Canucks have locked up their newest player to a long-term deal.
The team announced on Wednesday that they’ve come to terms with defenceman Marcus Pettersson on a six-year contract extension worth $5.5 million annually.
Vancouver acquired Pettersson last week after they moved J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. The Canucks received Filip Chytl, Victor Mancini, and a protected first-round pick from the Rangers in return for Miller and they flipped the draft pick along with Vincent Desharnais and Danton Heinen to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Pettersson, Drew O’Connor, and a prospect.
Pettersson, who turns 29 in May, was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July. He’s in the final season of a five-year contract with the Penguins signed in January 2020 worth $4,025,175 annually, so he’ll be getting a modest raise on his new deal.
“In just a couple of games, Marcus has already shown us the type of leadership, poise, and character that we want in a top-four defenseman,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement. “He has a calming influence on the ice, uses his long reach and hockey smarts to break up plays, and has a good first pass to help us create more offensively. We are extremely happy to get this deal done and look forward to working with him in both the short term and long term.”
The Anaheim Ducks selected Pettersson in the second round of the 2014 draft and he was traded to the Penguins during the 2018-19 season in exchange for Daniel Sprong. Vancouver’s President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford, traded for Pettersson and signed him while working in Pittsburgh’s front office.
Adding Pettersson has solidified the top-four on Vancouver’s blueline. The Canucks have Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek on their first pair while Pettersson has lined up with Tyler Myers on the second pair through his first two games with the team.
Vancouver also now has a logjam when it comes to their bottom pairing, with young defenders Elias Nils Pettersson and Victor Mancini vying for playing time and veterans Derek Forbort, Carson Soucy, and Noah Juulsen in the mix as well.
Hughes is currently on the Injured Reserve, but something will have to give when he’s ready to return to the lineup. According to Frank Seravalli, the Canucks have made it clear to the rest of the league that Soucy is available…
“The Vancouver Canucks sent out a memo on Monday advising the rest of the league that Carson Soucy is available via trade. Now, that is a factual matter. He is available by trade, but it’s important to point out that Carson Soucy has a full no-trade clause for this season. He does have one year left on his deal and a very reasonable $3.25 million.
But he’s someone who’s game has not been in order this season. He has struggled for a big chunk of this year. You see last night’s game, 13 minutes played and he’s someone that, when Quinn Hughes is back, is probably likely to be on the outside looking in again. It’s a bit of a surprising twist for a guy that was such a big part of Vancouver’s playoff run last year and can be a really impactful playoff piece with the size that he has.
I think a team would be really wise to go out and grab Carson Soucy. Also, he’s not a rental, he’s not going to cost you anything more than any of the other rentals that are on the market, and you get the bonus year from him at, with the cap going up, I think a manageable number.”
Soucy signed a three-year contract with the Canucks as a free agent back in July of 2023. The native of Viking, Alberta was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and was later taken by the Seattle Kraken as part of their Expansion Draft in 2021.
Though Soucy only scored six points in 40 games for the Canucks in 2023-24, he was one of Vancouver’s most effective shutdown defenders, ranking second on the team in shots, high-danger chances, and goals against at even strength. The results haven’t been as solid for Soucy in 2024-25, as he has an on-ice goal differential of 24-to-32 and a shot attempt differential of 626-to-848.
Sending Desharnais to the Penguins opened up some salary cap room and getting out from under Soucy’s contract would give the Canucks added flexibility when it comes to fitting in Pettersson’s new contract.