NHL team reveals money they'd want Vancouver Canucks to retain on Pettersson trade: report
It could be the deciding factor on whether an Elias Pettersson trade is even possible for the Vancouver Canucks.
Would they be willing to retain money on a trade?
Because apparently, that’s what teams want the Canucks to do.
Pettersson clearly hasn’t lived up to the $11.6 million per year contract that he signed back in March of 2024, and other teams around the NHL aren’t oblivious to that.
According to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, teams interested in Pettersson would want the Canucks to retain salary in any trade.
āTeams will want Vancouver to retain,” Dhaliwal said during an appearance on Sportsnet 650’s Halford and Brough.
“I talked to one team, who is not in the running for Petterson, but they told me that if they were, they would ask for up to $3 million a year in retention.ā
Surely, that would be a tough pill for owner Francesco Aquilini to swallow.
The Canucks signed Pettersson to a long-term extension, thinking that he would be a bona fide, number-one centre who could be part of the next legendary Canucks squad.
Instead, most of the surrounding core has been traded, like Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller, or they can’t stay healthy like Thatcher Demko.
Although perhaps that’s a side plot to the fact that Pettersson has looked like a shell of his former self for almost two years.
While there’s certainly still value in Pettersson as a two-way centre with some offensive upside, his drastic drop in skating speed has left him unable to juke and jive around the opposition. We’re a long way away now from the “bro, do your dekes” stage of his career.
It would be understandable if the Canucks pushed back on not retaining any money, but is it something they should consider?
If the Canucks were to retain $3 million on any trade, including Pettersson, it would leave them with about $7.7 million against the cap next year. In 2026-27, the Canucks are paying Oliver Ekman-Larsson $4.7 million due to his 2023 buyout. That drops to a shade over $2 million per season from 2027 to 2031.
While retaining money isn’t ideal, if the trade package is right, it’s something they need to consider.
While Canucks president Jim Rutherford may think that Vancouver’s current rebuild will take 2-3 years, if done properly, history suggests that’s a borderline fantasy. Realistically, the rough timeline is probably closer to five years.
If the Canucks aren’t going to be in Stanley Cup contention for the majority of Pettersson’s contract, why wouldn’t they entertain the idea of retaining salary, especially if it helps them get a more favourable return?