The fact that Elias Pettersson ended up re-signing with the Vancouver Canucks is not really a surprise.

This is a league where it's very rare for top-tier talents to hit the open market, and the fact that the Canucks controlled Pettersson's rights for another year beyond this one made it a nearly foregone conclusion that he would end up back with the same team. Threats of trades to the Carolina Hurricanes aside — and if we're being honest, that outcome always seemed far-fetched for a lot of reasons — this was always the most likely outcome.

The only questions about his next contract were when he would sign it, how long it would be for (especially because it's become very en vogue to avoid maxing out the term) and for how much it would cost.

Obviously, players don't just get to decide that the