Elias Pettersson is back in the rumor mill, and Los Angeles keeps showing up in the conversation for a reason.
A social media video that circulated early this week put the Vancouver Canucks center back in the spotlight after it showed him skating in Los Angeles this offseason. That was enough to get the hockey world talking again, especially with the Kings already having been linked to Pettersson in trade chatter over the past few months.
But there’s also a clear reason not to read too much into the footage. Rick Dhaliwal of the Canucks Conversation said he does not believe Pettersson will be traded to the Kings before the upcoming season, and he added that a deal between Vancouver and Los Angeles involving Pettersson this offseason has not come close in the last few months.
Even so, the idea is not dead.
Pettersson’s wife is from Los Angeles, which makes offseason skating and training in Southern California a pretty normal setup. And importantly, this was not a Kings practice or team skate that Pettersson was spotted at in the last week or so.
That said, the Kings have been tied to him before, and recent speculation has still included Los Angeles as one of the teams that has at least checked on the possibility of making a move. The fit has become more interesting now than it looked earlier in the summer.
The reason is simple: the Kings are about to enter their first season without Anze Kopitar, and they still need a long-term answer at center to pair with Quinton Byfield in the top six.
Pettersson brings obvious upside, but he also comes with real risk. He’s coming off another disappointing offensive season by the standards he set earlier in his NHL career, and his contract makes any move a serious gamble. At the same time, that dip in production could be exactly what makes him more reachable if Vancouver eventually decides to seriously explore a trade.
Los Angeles would be wise not to pay a premium based on the best version of Pettersson. But if his recent struggles push the price down, Kings general manager Ken Holland at least has reason to keep listening.
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