There's 'renewed' trade interest in Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson: report
The Vancouver Canucks have just over a week to prove that they are serious about committing to a rebuild.
And, the most franchise-altering move they could make between now and the March 6 trade deadline would be trading away former franchise centre Elias Pettersson.
Sure, they would probably extract more value out of Filip Hronek, but removing Pettersson from the roster just two years after extending him would show the fanbase that management is serious about going in a different direction.
It’s fair to be skeptical about whether or not the Canucks can pull this off. However, there is reportedly interest in Vancouver’s number-one centre.
“There’s renewed trade interest in Pettersson,” TSN’s Darren Dreger said Tuesday on Insider Trading. “The Canucks, frankly, are hoping that interest progresses into a worthy trade offer they can consider. That’s not the case to this point.”
Dreger also highlighted that surface-level discussions are ongoing and that Pettersson’s agents are in the loop about that.
“Pettersson’s agents from CAA are well aware of the trade discussions that are happening around their player, but theyre not going to include Pettersson until it gets to the point where there is a potential deal.”
That echoes what Pettersson’s agent, J.P. Barry, told Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal last month.
āFor us, we know itās not real unless the GM is calling us and saying that thereās an actual team or a deal,” Barry said at the time.
Dreger wasn’t the only NHL insider to report on the interest in Pettersson. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos had the 27-year-old at the top of his NHL trade deadline list on Tuesday as well.
“Carolina has never stopped showing interest,” Kypreos wrote. “Detroit and Los Angeles also have a need for a top-six centre and are seeing if a Pettersson deal can work for them.”
Of course, one massive hurdle in making this real is whether the Canucks are willing to retain money on his expensive, lengthy contract. There’s been no indication to this point that they’ve been willing to do so.
Dhaliwal also reported on Tuesday that retention of Pettersson’s salary could be a hurdle in trade negotiations.
“When it comes to Pettersson, one team told me that they need the Canucks to take me $2.6 million to $3 million per year,” he said Tuesday on Donnie and Dhali.
“Teams would prefer Pettersson under $10 million,” he added.
With the Canucks just entering a rebuild, coupled with the cap going up from $95.5 million to $104 million next season, they’d be wise to consider salary retention if the deal is right.
The Canucks can retain up to three salaries at once. They only have one spot filled, as they’re still paying Ilya Mikheyev $712,500 this season.
Those three retention spots are separate from buyouts. That’s worth noting for the Canucks since they are paying Oliver Ekman-Larsson $4.7 million not to be on the roster this season.
If the Canucks truly are serious about a rebuild, boosting a Pettersson return by retaining salary would certainly show a commitment to building a future Stanley Cup contender.