SUNDAY BEST: CONTRACTS THE FOCUS AS SEASON BEGINS

TORONTO, ON — With the Vancouver Canucks expected to formally finalize and announce the new contracts for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes at some point today, all eyes point to Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators.

Pettersson’s three-year, $22.05 million deal ($7.35M AAV) and Hughes’ six-year, $47.1 million contract ($7.85M AAV) still needed some fine-tuning over the weekend, which is why it hasn’t been formally announced at the time this piece is published, but all sides are relieved they found a common ground and can put these negotiations behind them.

The Canucks will get just over a week of Pettersson and Hughes in training camp – a pretty savvy move by these stars, reducing their pre-season workload – and the Senators are still wondering when their restricted free agent star will join their camp.

Tkachuk had been skating with Pettersson and Hughes in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is now the lone RFA in the NHL. At some point during the negotiation process, an eight-year, $64 million offer was presented to Tkachuk’s camp. It’s unclear if that offer is still on the table and the two sides are haggling over structure, or if Tkachuk is insisting on a short-term deal. Either way, he’s still unsigned.

One thing the Senators have been firmly against is giving out signing bonuses. Thomas Chabot’s eight-year, $64 million deal doesn’t have any. Neither does Drake Batherson’s six-year, $29.85 million deal. The expectation is that trend will continue with Tkachuk.

Senators GM Pierre Dorion is hoping to create some progress going into a fresh week. We’ll see if the two sides can shorten the gap – whatever it is.

PANTHERS, BARKOV TRYING TO WORK OUT EXTENSION

The Florida Panthers resumed contract negotiations with captain Aleksander Barkov once training camp got underway and the two sides continue to have an open dialogue.

While I’m told things have been moving slowly, as I reported on Friday, there is some optimism a long-term contract extension can be ironed out before the regular-season gets underway on Oct. 12.

Barkov, who turned 26 last month, is in the final year of a six-year, $35.4 million contract. He is set to earn $7.75 million this season in actual salary and will see his AAV climb quite a bit on his next deal.

You’ve got to imagine the Panthers want to get Barkov locked up to an eight-year extension, the max term a player can sign for with his current team. Barkov is certainly open to that idea, but the money has to make sense. Obviously.

One source close to the situation told me this week “it gets done when it’s done,” which leads me to believe it’s a matter of when and not if. Both sides would like to get this book closed by the time the season starts, but that doesn’t sound like a hard stop deadline.

I suspect talks will pick up this coming week.

SPOILER ALERT: RIELLY WILL BE COSTLY

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a big decision to make on star defenceman Morgan Rielly. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they will make it now.

Rielly has one-year left on his six-year, $30 million contract and will likely see the AAV on his next contract hover in between $8 million and $9 million – unless he really lights it up. That’s not exactly something Leafs fans want to see, but it is the reality of the situation.

Rielly is among the top defencemen in next summer’s UFA class, which also currently includes Ryan Pulock, Hampus Lindholm, Kris Letang, John Klingberg, Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban. He will be 28 by the time July 2022 rolls around and he’s going to cash in.

With the salary cap expect to go up $1 million next season, the Leafs are currently on track to have just under $15 million in 2022-23 cap space. Goalie Jack Campbell is also in the final year of his current contract; as are forwards Jason Spezza and Ilya Mikheyev, who is probably in his last year in Toronto — all three players can become UFAs next July. Forwards Ondrej Kase and Pierre Engvall, and defenceman Rasmus Sandin can become RFAs.

There isn’t enough money to go around without moving other contracts or letting Rielly walk, and it’s entirely possible the Leafs view Rielly as their own ‘rental’ piece this season.

Rielly made it clear to open training camp that he will not make his contract a focal point this season. He is leaving the negotiations up to his agent, J.P. Barry, and Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. When there’s something important enough to be updated on, he’ll be updated. But his focus is on playing.

Assuming Rielly’s love for Toronto genuine, the Leafs could sign him to a new deal, in the $8M-$9M AAV range, and worry about next season once the summer rolls around. Or they can wait and see how the season unfolds.

Either way, the Rielly decision will impact the Leafs well beyond the B.C. native’s paycheck.