Elias Pettersson the defenseman has three goals through 10 games, and he's one of the few things going right for the Canucks.
Not the $11,600,000 forward. The 22-year-old blueliner wearing No. 25, who's quietly turning into a story beyond Vancouver.
His three goals include a shorthanded tally and a game-winner.
Heading into Tuesday's home game against Carolina, the praise is getting louder. One voice on a recent broadcast said he'd been texting with someone convinced DPD can score 15 goals this season.
“This is what you want in a rebuild too, right?” he said.
He's not wrong. The rest of Vancouver's season has been a grind, and that's putting it kindly.
The Canucks have lost seven straight and allowed 45 goals in 10 games.
Trade chip or rebuild cornerstone for a 2-7-1 Vancouver team
They come home after a six-game road trip that ended 0-5-1, capped by a 4-2 loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Pettersson logged 21:42 in that game, even if he finished minus-3 on a rough night for everybody.
He's like a twenty you find in an old jacket during a bad month. It won't pay the rent, but it changes the mood.
The blue line around him is young. Zeev Buium is 20 and Tom Willander is 21, and Pettersson gives that group a third piece to build around.
Filip Hronek and Buium have each gone minus-6, which makes DPD's +3 stand out even more.
So is he a trade chip or a keeper? A 22-year-old defenseman on a $913,334 cap hit is exactly the kind of asset contenders call about.
Moving him would be a mistake. Rebuilds are built on cheap, productive young players, and this one is already finding the net like a veteran.
Manny Malhotra has bigger fires to put out first. Kevin Lankinen is sitting at an .801 save percentage, while Leevi Merilainen is at .925.
The front office has options now, which is more than anyone expected in October. What it does with this one will say a lot about how patient this rebuild really is.
Should the Canucks keep defenseman Elias Pettersson instead of trading him?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Zadorov trade to this Canadian team? His agent seems open after a Bruins disciplinary scratch
