Are Canucks talking trade with St. Louis Blues for Elias Pettersson?
The odds of Elias Pettersson being traded have never been higher.
Another year of subpar play and mediocre preparation left the old Vancouver Canucks management regime frustrated. While they touted his defensive play, Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin often cited that there was another gear offensively, suggesting he didn’t put in the work you’d expect from an $11.6-million player.
Ryan Johnson has given Pettersson a clean slate, saying that there are no expectations for the well-compensated centre.
While that’s messaging that should resonate with a player who’s seemingly lost some confidence, the feel-good vibes don’t necessarily mean he’s now sticking around.
A report from NHL insider Pierre LeBrun yesterday stated that the Canucks may be willing to retain money on an Elias Pettersson trade.
That represents a change from the Rutherford/Allvin regime, who reportedly did not want to retain any money on Pettersson’s fat contract. If the Canucks are willing to retain, a Pettersson trade certainly becomes more feasible.
Are the Blues interested in Canucks’ Elias Pettersson? (Bob Frid/Imagn Images)
Teams like the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings have been linked to Pettersson of late. However, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal mentioned a new team interested in acquiring the Swedish centre.
“Yeah. This Pettersson trade talk… I just want to say it’s real,” Dhaliwal said.
“If the Canucks can offload that contract, they’re going to try and do it. They’re going to try and offload it.”
“Somebody told me this morning that St. Louis is sniffing around Pettersson. I’m looking into it to see if it’s true. The way it’s been told to me is if the Canucks think they have a deal for Pettersson that makes sense for them, I am sure they will then take that deal to Pettersson’s agents, J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson, to see if Pettersson will waive.”
Dhaliwal’s report that St. Louis could be interested in Pettersson is surprising. The Blues don’t appear close to contending, making a decision to acquire a 27-year-old centre somewhat difficult to understand.
St. Louis has been rumoured to be a seller over the past few months. They traded captain Brayden Schenn and defenceman Justin Faulk at the trade deadline. The Blues almost traded Colton Parayko to the Buffalo Sabres as well. Jordan Kyrou is another player who’s been rumoured to be on the trade block, along with Robert Thomas.
Pettersson could conceivably slot in as the Blues’ second-line centre behind Robert Thomas. (Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images)
The Blues could also be a little bit unpredictable, considering that they will have a new general manager as of July 1. That’s what Alex Steen takes over from Doug Armstrong. Steen will be the only active Swedish general manager in the league, after Patrik Allvin was fired by the Canucks back in April.
Could the Swedish Steen be a believer in a rejuvenated Pettersson?
St. Louis could also convince themselves that they can compete with another top-six centre. They have an obvious need for one following Schenn’s departure. After Thomas, the Blues’ next centres on the depth chart are 21-year-old Daliber Dvorsky and former Canuck Pius Suter.
Right now, the Blues have over $14 million in cap space to play with, and they have no big-ticket free agents to re-sign.
There aren’t many bad contracts on their books for the Canucks to potentially take back. However, if the Blues want to avoid a long-term injured reserve commitment, the Canucks could look to take on the final year of Torey Krug’s $6.5 million cap hit. The defenceman’s career is over after subtalar fusion surgery on his left ankle. He hasn’t played since the 2023-24 season.
St. Louis will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in terms of potential trades during the draft, considering that they’re the only team with three first-round picks.