Canucks GM: 'No angry sides' in contract talks with Pettersson, Hughes

No one's signed a deal yet, but the communication lines between Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning and restricted free agents Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are entirely open.

According to Benning, he's in touch with the pair's agent at least every other day.

"We have a good relationship," Benning told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "There's no angry sides. We're just trying to work through it to figure out how to make everybody happy."

"We're just trying to figure out how to get to some common ground from their perspective and our perspective, he added. "They're important players in the future of our team and our group, but these are complicated deals."

Complicated or not, Benning is hopeful there's enough time to get the contracts done before training camp, which starts next week.

"I'd like to try to figure it out because I feel like they're still young players, they're still developing and I think training camp is important for them," Benning elaborated.

The Canucks are looking at bridge deals for the two stars in order to get something signed, although the sides have discussed both short- and long-term contracts. MacIntyre reports.

Pettersson told a Swedish media outlet in August that while he wasn't worried about getting a new deal done with Vancouver, he does want to play for a winning team. Last season was difficult for the Canucks and the 22-year-old, who was limited to just 26 games due to injury.

Hughes, meanwhile, has been quiet on the contract negotiation front.

Whether or not Pettersson and Hughes are in the Canucks' lineup, the puck drops on Vancouver's season on Oct. 13.

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