Report: Canucks Rejected Hurricanes' Centre In Blockbuster Talks
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has revealed another detail about the trade discussions between the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes, saying he heard that Vancouver “weren’t crazy about” forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi when the two clubs were talking about Elias Pettersson.
Where Kotkaniemi Stands In Carolina
Kotkaniemi carries a $4.82 million cap hit through 2029-30 on the eight-year, $38.56 million contract he signed in 2022, and has a 10-team no-trade list that kicked in this season.
He has four goals and seven points in 14 games for a Hurricanes team sitting at 12-3-2, which is a better start than the one he had last season, when his role shrank and his future in Carolina was in question.
Last year, he had just two goals and nine total points over 42 games played.
Elliotte Friedman - 32T - Kotkaniemi | You know who looks really good this year? Jesperi Kotkaniemi. [...] He looks like he's rediscovered himself a bit. He's been on the trade block for about a year. Nobody took him. And there was talk that maybe Carolina was going to buy him out because he was a one-third buyout, right? Since he was under 26. They said, nope, we're not doing that. And he's looking like he's regained his confidence quite a bit. He looks like a different player. - 11/2 #NHL #CarolinaCulture
— R i N K Y (@RinkyReport) November 3, 2026
The former third overall pick from the 2018 draft came to Carolina on a 2021 offer sheet that cost the Hurricanes a first-round and third-round pick, and he was part of the club’s Stanley Cup run last season.
Friedman reported earlier this year that Carolina was shopping Kotkaniemi, including in a package offered to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes trade talks before Hughes landed in Minnesota.
He said in March that the Canucks did think about Kotkaniemi in a deal that didn’t involve Pettersson, adding that the answer he heard after Vancouver watched him play was lukewarm.
The Pettersson Connection
Carolina’s interest in Pettersson goes back years, and Friedman reported in 2024 that the two teams had talks advanced enough that both Vancouver and the player had to make serious decisions before Pettersson signed his eight-year, $92.8 million extension.
"Just try to have fun with it every night" Jesperi Kotkaniemi discussed his season so far and more in the ice-level interview 🧊🏒 #CarolinaCulture #Smashville #NHL https://t.co/jZzg0v81sn
— Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) November 4, 2026
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported in March that the Canucks were not interested in retaining any of Pettersson’s contract in a trade, which may have pushed teams like the Hurricanes out of the race.
Pettersson's had a really nice start to the year, recording four goals and 18 points across 17 games on a Canucks team that's at the bottom of the standings.
