Canucks and Hurricanes had trade talks involving Pettersson: report

Just when the noise began to quiet down on Elias Pettersson comes a report that the Vancouver Canucks discussed trading him.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports this afternoon that the Canucks had trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes, prior to Pettersson agreeing to begin contract negotiations earlier this week.

Friedman reported on Saturday that the Canucks were getting trade calls on their superstar centre.

The trade talks were so advanced, Friedman says, that the Canucks and Pettersson had to make “serious decisions” about his future.

The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta is reporting that Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are two of the players that Carolina offered.

I believe names like Martin Necas and Jesper Kotkaniemi were discussed from Carolina’s end. This first occurred over week ago, prior to my initial contract offer report last week. https://t.co/pRiO5ORMKg

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 29, 2024

It now looks like Pettersson will remain in Vancouver for the foreseeable future, as he and the Canucks are reportedly discussing an eight-year contract extension, likely paying him in the neighbourhood of $100 million.

Until this week, Pettersson maintained that he didn’t want to talk contract until the end of the season. Fans feared that Pettersson, who is a pending restricted free agent, wanted out of Vancouver.

Those fears were calmed yesterday after Frank Seravalli reported that the Canucks and Pettersson made “significant progress” in contract negotiations.

The situation is reminiscent of the Alex Burrows drama prior to the 2009 trade deadline. The Canucks were offered a first-round draft pick and a third liner for him, and would have accepted the deal had Burrows not agreed to a contract before the trade deadline.

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