Elias Pettersson has a 102 point season under his belt.
Elias Pettersson would make more sense for the Jackets. He's only 26 years old, just entering his prime. He's signed through 2032, but at a hefty $11.6 million dollar cap hit. The issue here is, he signed that contract after two seasons where he posted 191 points in 162 games.
Aside from those two elite years? He's got 253 points in 289 career games. Very good, but is he worthy of the 5th highest contract AAV in the entire NHL? I'm not so sure - especially with a locker room rift weighing on his shoulders. Still, he's a star talent who fits into the timeline of success here. It might work.
One of the biggest concerns is his potential presence in the locker room. The Jackets are having fun right now, scoring a lot of goals and winning games in a variety of ways. This group looks like it has gelled into a team this season. Having that chemistry is far more important than having star talent. Look no further than their last few seasons with Patrik Laine in the room. It definitely wasn't all #29's fault, but it's hard to argue that removing him seems to have moved this team in a better direction.
It's more about what you have to give up to get.
The other question: what does Elias Pettersson cost? I'm almost certain the Canucks would ask for one of Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, or Cole Sillinger in return. If that's the case, I would hang up the phone immediately. These guys are the future core up front here, regardless who else is brought in.
The only scenario where I'm even considering this, is if I can get the Canucks to do two things. First, they'll have to take Damon Severson the other way. They've been rumored to need help on defense, and getting out of that contract would give the Jackets the flexibility to extend Ivan Provorov on their blue line. Severson would have to agree to this deal as well, because he has a no trade clause. He's a Western Canadian native, so he may consider it.
Second, aside from Severson, everything else in the deal is going to be futures from my end. Futures not named Luca del bel Belluz or Denton Mateychuk. Maybe it's Cayden Lindstrom, or Gavin Brindley, or someone else ... but, nobody from the current NHL roster.
If you can make that deal work, surrounding Severson, one of your first round picks, a prospect and some other kind of sweetener, sure, maybe you consider it. But, I really hope that Don Waddell sticks to his word about building a team around chemistry and cohesiveness. That should be the first thing taken into consideration here. They've worked this hard to achieve it, and I would hate to see it spoiled because they feel the need to speed up the rebuild.