Elias Pettersson
Despite inclinations that Pettersson's preference is likely to stay in Vancouver, which I wholeheartedly believe, Pettersson's name has come up continuously in trade rumors ever since the Canucks took their nosedive to the bottom of the league last season. Search his name on any hockey news website, and you're sure to find articles speculating about possible trade costs.
It's easy to see why there's some interest around him: before the Canucks fell out of the playoffs in the past two seasons, Pettersson was looking to be the next superstar centerman in the NHL, highlighted by a 102 point season in '22-'23 and an 89 point campaign in '23-'24. Vancouver snapped up an extension for him that kicked in during the 2024-2025 season, which now has six years remaining at $11.6m AAV.
Since then, the wheels have fallen off a bit for both his hockey club and him as a player. He put up just 45 points in 64 games in 2024-2025 and 51 points in 74 games this past year. There's no chance that an NHL club would be willing to take on his entire $11.6m cap hit without some retention or incentives.
But, at his best, Pettersson was one of the best offensive centerman in the NHL, and should he find that form again, would be a heck of an investment for whichever team would obtain him. I doubt he's traded, given he as a full NMC and all signs point to his preference to be staying in Vancouver, but it's interesting to speculate. Pettersson would certainly immediately fit in on the top line for the Blue Jackets, and it'd be interesting to see if he'd shift to the wing, given the struggles he has had in the faceoff dot across his NHL career so far.
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