NHL Rumors: Were The Canucks Seriously Considering Elias Pettersson Trade?
Were the Vancouver Canucks ever trading Elias Pettersson?
Short answer: no.
Rob Simpson of VancouverHockeyInsider called the Elias Pettersson trade chatter asinine, and the logic backs him up. The Vancouver Canucks were never going to move a franchise center who had just signed for eight years and $11.6 million AAV. You do not trade your best two-way forward when you already lack proven center depth behind him.
Doing so would have forced Vancouver to find not one replacement but two, a near impossibility for a club that wants to take a real step forward.
Considering all the discourse that surrounds him, it's interesting to me that Elias Pettersson's 5v5 chance numbers are more consistent than basically anybody in the league in the past seven seasons pic.twitter.com/HQg0EFbrck
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 10, 2025
Elias Pettersson trade rumors vs. roster reality
The Canucks’ center picture made a deal unrealistic. Filip Chytil remains a talented but unproven full-time top-six pivot. Aatu Räty and Teddy Blueger project for depth roles.
Remove Elias Pettersson and the entire spine collapses.
That is why Simpson dismissed the idea and why management never operated like a team shopping its star. Even in a down year, Pettersson still drove value at five-on-five, drew penalties, and stabilized matchups. Trading him would have repeated past mistakes where multiple follow-up moves were needed just to get back to baseline.
Hockey trainer db_hockey_factory on #Canucks' Elias Pettersson:
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) August 29, 2025
"Elias is one of the most complex, exciting but also most elusive players I have ever come into contact with. A top athlete combined with a great artist. He can do things out on the ice that no other player in the… pic.twitter.com/7JDGZh2H8d
Why the organization bet on a bounce-back
Everything this summer pointed to a recommitment, not an exit. Pettersson talked about a revenge season and showed up stronger and healthy after last year’s knee and oblique issues. The club doubled down around him by keeping Brock Boeser and adding grit and scoring with Evander Kane.
New coach Adam Foote can lean into a top group that still wins when Pettersson is closer to his 2022-23 form.
Photo Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
