It's reportedly over for Elias Pettersson with the Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson's future in Vancouver is shakier than ever, and the Canucks know it.

The Canucks dropped their season opener 2-4 on the road against Seattle Saturday night, and Vancouver is already sitting on a one-game losing streak.

That's the backdrop for insider Frank Seravalli's bluntest comment yet on Pettersson's status with the franchise.

Asked directly on Oilers Now whether the center finishes this season in a Canucks jersey, Seravalli didn't hedge.

"I don't think so," he said.

Seravalli pointed to Vancouver's approach this offseason, working to rehab Pettersson's game and reset his mindset rather than force a trade nobody's offering fair value for.

New head coach Manny Malhotra, hired back in June, inherits a locker room where the center's name still dominates every conversation about this roster.

Cap hit shift could reopen the trade market this winter

Here's the twist. Pettersson still carries an $11,600,000 cap hit, a number that scared off suitors last summer.

But league-wide spending has shifted, and Seravalli believes that number won't look as radioactive if Pettersson strings together a few strong months.

Think of it like a stock that tanked on bad earnings. Nobody wants in at the peak price, but a rebound quarter changes the conversation fast.

The Canucks head to Calgary next, still searching for their first win of the new season with Pettersson's name attached to every trade deadline speculation piece between now and March.

Vancouver isn't shopping him publicly, and Pettersson hasn't been asked to waive his no-trade protection.

But patience has limits, and this front office has shown it before.

If the production climbs and the offers finally match the cap number, Seravalli's prediction writes itself. If it doesn't, Vancouver is stuck paying a King's ransom for a player nobody wants either way.

That's the trade deadline nobody wants to admit they're already circling on the calendar.