The Elias Pettersson trade chatter isn’t going away, but the latest read still points to him staying put in Vancouver for now.
On Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, Rick Dhaliwal said the Canucks have been fielding calls, with Pittsburgh drawing the most attention in the rumor mill. Even so, Dhaliwal stressed that nothing sounds close and that Vancouver has not asked Pettersson to waive his no-trade protection.
“Okay, so here’s the deal with Pettersson. Okay, let me say this: every week there’s a new Pettersson rumor.
The latest one is the Penguins are after Pettersson’s, Pettersson. Teams checked in for sure.
I do believe Pittsburgh has some degree of interest in Pettersson. I am not hearing the rumor that the Canucks have asked for Ben Kindel, who’s a Vancouver native, former Calgary Hitman, by the way.
No way the Penguins are going to give up such a promising young player like Kindel for a bad contract.”
Dhaliwal said teams around the league are still checking in, but the market is complicated by Pettersson’s contract and production. He said one team told him Pettersson would be worth the gamble at $8 million, but not at $10 million or $11 million. He also noted the Canucks have been trying to move him for two years, and that his $11.6 million cap hit makes him a tough fit.
“Teams want retention. Some teams want Vancouver to take bad, back bad contract.
It’s not easy to move one of the worst contracts in hockey. This guy went from 100 points to 50 points to 50 points.
That’s tough to move at S11.6 million.”
The timing hasn’t helped Vancouver either. Dhaliwal said the Canucks could have made a deal at the trade deadline, at the NHL draft, or before July 1st, but nothing materialized. In his view, that makes a move even less likely now, especially with several clubs already spending heavily in free agency.
“The most likely scenario is he’ll be at training camp. They’ve been trying to move him for two years.
They could have moved him at this deadline. They could have moved him at the NHL draft.
They could have moved him before July 1st. If it didn’t happen at those three times, like what makes it, a lot of teams spend a lot of money on July 1st.
You know, maybe they don’t have money for this guy anymore.”
Dhaliwal also pointed to Vancouver’s direction, saying the club is headed into a rebuild and that Pettersson’s name will keep coming up because teams are calling. But he said the Canucks have not taken the step of asking him to waive anything, and there has been no sign of a deal nearing the finish line.
“They have never asked him. They’ve never sat him down and said, ‘Hey, we’re close with this team.
Would you go there?’ I don’t know if he’s going to waive Bob.”
Pettersson has spent eight years in Vancouver, made the playoffs twice, and has never asked for a trade, according to Dhaliwal. He also said Pettersson’s agents, J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson, have the ability to push things along if that ever changes.
“In eight years in Vancouver, he’s only made the playoffs twice. He’s never asked for a trade.
He’s never asked. Last two years have been horrible for this kid.
He’s never asked out. He’s got two powerful agents in J.P.
Barry and Pat Brisson, who orchestrated the Quinn Hughes trade out of Vancouver. So you know what?
Quinn Hughes asked to get out. Pettersson hasn’t asked to get out.
If Pettersson wants out, J.P. Berry and, and also Pat Brisson, they can get him out.”
In Other News...
Elias Pettersson Trade Buzz Just Put Canucks Fans On Alert
The trade chatter around Elias Pettersson has put Canucks fans on alert, even if the noise still sounds more like speculation than a deal taking shape. Pittsburgh is reportedly in serious discussions with Dallas on Jason Robertson, the more advanced target in this whole swirl, while the Pettersson connection has been described as a looser fit with no framework in place.
From Vancouvers side, the bigger takeaway is that Pettersson keeps surfacing in league-wide rumors whenever the Penguins are hunting for scoring help. But for now, the most concrete movement appears to be elsewhere, with Robertson drawing the strongest traction and the Canucks still watching from the edge of a market that has not produced a finalized move. [Read more 🡒]
Elias Pettersson Is Forcing A Brutal Canucks Reality Check
Elias Petterssons slide has become one of the defining questions around the Canucks, because it is no longer just about a slow start or a temporary dip. Since signing his long-term extension, his offensive impact has fallen sharply, with his shot generation and expected-goals profile both trending down, and the version of him that once drove play through the middle has looked harder to find. Vancouvers own decline as a team has complicated the picture, but Petterssons individual drop-off has been too steep to ignore.
The concern is not only the points total, but the way he is moving. Pettersson does not look as explosive as he did in his peak years, and that change has fueled questions about whether the issue is physical, situational, or something in between. For a club that built so much of its future around him, the Canucks now have to weigh what comes next if the player at the center of that plan is no longer performing like one. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks May Have A Shot At Solving Their Biggest Roster Question
The Canucks have been searching for a real answer down the middle, and Shane Wright has at least put himself into that conversation. Vancouver has shown interest in the Seattle centre as it looks to strengthen its depth at a position that has been a lingering roster question, and Wrights profile makes him an intriguing fit for a team trying to add more stability in the middle of the ice.
Wrights season in Seattle has not given him much runway, with limited usage and a role that has kept his production from fully taking off. Even so, the appeal is obvious for Vancouver, which sees a player who could still grow into more responsibility, while Seattles reluctance to move him easily suggests any deal would have to clear a fairly high bar. [Read more 🡒]