Canucks Insider Reveals 'Most Likely Scenario' For Elias Pettersson on Trade Market
He's gone from a 100-point scorer to a 50-point scorer the last two years. The difference is... that $92.8 million contract. Elias Pettersson is the biggest anchor holding down the Vancouver Canucks and the team being able to forge full-bore into its rebuild.
The 27-year-old Swede is firmly on the trade block, but with six more years to run at an $11.6 million cap hit and a full no-move clause, it's a difficult situation.
Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal, speaking on Oilers Now, has given us the latest intel on Pettersson and then makes his conclusion on the "most likely scenario" for the player this offseason.
"So here's the deal with Pettersson, OK? Every week there's a new rumor," Dhaliwal says. "The latest one is the Penguins. Teams that are desperate at center call. I do believe Pittsburgh has some degree of interest in Elias Pettersson, but I am not hearing the rumour that the Canucks have asked for (2025 first-rounder) Ben Kindel... No way the Penguins are gonna give up such a promising young player like Kindel for such a bad contract."
What is the most likely scenario for Elias Pettersson this summer?
Then Dhaliwal drops the real bombshell. It sounds like the Canucks are stuck with EP40 for now, and he won't be going anywhere this offseason. And there are two reasons for that. One is his albatross of a contract. The other is the player's own desire.
As of now, he has not been asked by the Vancouver Canucks to waive his no-move clause to go anywhere. That tells you right there that there's nothing close...
One team told me that at $8 million, Pettersson's worth the risk, but he is not worth the risk at $10M or $11M.They've been trying to trade this guy for two years… There's a reason why it hasn't happened. Teams want retention. Some teams want Vancouver to take back bad contracts. It's not easy. This guy has one of the worst contracts in hockey...
The most likely scenario is that he'll be at training camp (with the Canucks).
The other big issue is that Pettersson himself hasn't asked to be traded, says Dhaliwal. He notes that with his two powerful agents, Pat Brisson and JP Barry, he could get out if he wanted.
"The last two years have been horrible for this kid; he's never asked out... If Pettersson wants out, JP Barry and Pat Brisson, they can get him out."
