Enter the Dragon: Defenceman Marcus Pettersson finds home in Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks' Marcus Pettersson, front right, and Detroit Red Wings' Michael Rasmussen vie for the puck during third period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have three Petterssons, but only one Dragon.

That’s the nickname that was bestowed on six-foot-five Marcus Pettersson by assistant coach Trent Yawney not long after he was chosen by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the 2014 draft.

“He asked me if I was good at basketball and I kind of jokingly said that my P.E. teacher back in middle school called me The Dragon when we played basketball,” Pettersson said on a media call on Thursday. “Being young at the time, I didn’t know it would stick.”

Whatever they call him, Canucks fans can expect to see Pettersson chewing up big minutes on the left side of the blue line for years to come. On Wednesday, just five days after he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 28-year-old signed a six-year, US$33-million contract extension with his new team.

The deal carries a full no-trade clause in the first three years and a 15-team no-trade list in the final three years.

“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 defenceman,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin in a statement. “We are extremely happy to get this deal done.”

Familiarity was key to coming to terms with Pettersson’s agent, Peter Wallen, so quickly. When Pettersson signed his last contract with the Penguins early in 2020, current Canucks president Jim Rutherford was Pittsburgh’s GM.

Other former Penguins staffers, including Allvin, are also now working in Vancouver.

“I know the way they run a team,” Pettersson said. “It’s people that I know, so that helped me a lot.”

With the Penguins looking like a longshot to snap their two-year playoff drought, Pettersson is optimistic about his new team’s prospects.

“It’s a young, hungry group looking to win every game we can and go far in the playoffs,” he said. “So expectations are high.”

The bright spotlight of playing in a Canadian market for the first time also appealed to him.

“I saw a few of the games in the playoffs last year and how much the city rallies around the team,” he said. “I’m really excited.”

The Canucks were 24-18-11 for 59 points heading into a game Thursday night at San Jose. They were tied with Calgary for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with the Flames holding the tiebreaker.

But after a tumultuous few months, including a reported rift between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, Vancouver is 1-0-1 since inserting three new players into the lineup after executing two trades last Friday.

The Canucks received center Filip Chytil and a conditional first-round pick as key pieces in the deal that sent Miller to the New York Rangers. Hours later, Allvin flipped that pick to Pittsburgh, along with two players and a prospect, to obtain Pettersson and left-winger Drew O’Connor.

With captain Quinn Hughes out due to injury, Pettersson has averaged 24:30 in his first two games with Vancouver in a pairing with Tyler Myers.

Pettersson has 17 goals and 134 assists in 491 games with the Ducks and Penguins. He’s a steady defence-first defenceman who can make a good first pass out of the zone, according to Canucks coach Rick Tocchet.

The Vancouver blue line has also received a boost from 20-year-old Elias Pettersson, not to be confused with the forward bearing the same name. The defender is a third-round pick from 2022 who has shown poise and maturity in his first four NHL games since making his debut on Jan. 25.

Allvin and Rutherford will have more player personnel decisions to make before the March 7 trade deadline. Other potential unrestricted free agents include forwards Brock Boeser, Pius Suter and O’Connor, defenceman Derek Forbort and goalie Kevin Lankinen.

After facing the Sharks, the Canucks will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday before breaking for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Carol Schram, The Canadian Press