NHL Trade Rumors: Canucks & Islanders linked to blockbuster deal

The 2025 NHL offseason is setting up to be one for the ages, as there's expected to be multiple big-name players who are getting moved to different teams. The trade market is going to be the hottest its been in years, and two teams to keep an eye on are the Vancouver Canucks and New York Islanders.

Elias Pettersson is a prime trade candidate for the Canucks, as he could use a change of scenery, to say the very least. Pettersson was put through the ringer this year in Vancouver, and all the distractions cost him a ton of production on the ice. Pettersson finished the year with just 15 goals and 45 points in 64 games. For $11.6 million AAV, that's not going to cut it.

Pettersson's no-trade clause doesn't kick in until July, so there's a very good chance Canucks' management looks to move a splash at the NHL Draft in June. One potential trade partner is the New York Islanders, and specifically, landing B.C native Mat Barzal.

Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin quickly mentioned the two teams could strike a deal in a recent post on trade candidates who need a change of scenery:

Has any player in any market needed more of a fresh start in recent memory than Pettersson? Okay, maybe J.T. Miller did. But trading him didn’t seem to fix whatever was holding back Pettersson, whose 102-point season of 2022-23 seems like a lifetime ago. It feels like the pressure of a hockey-mad Canadian market has gotten to Pettersson, who has never seemed particularly comfortable with the attention. He’s still just 26 and, when healthy, brings a superstar-caliber set of tools. It wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see him become an elite player again, but it may not happen unless he changes addresses. Would a hockey trade involving Pettersson and B.C. native Barzal make sense?

Keep an eye on these two teams becoming trade partners at this year's draft. Both forward groups needs a refreshment and the overhauls could begin by swapping the underperforming superstars.