Elias Pettersson scored on the power play last night, and the Canucks still lost. Now a mock trade has him heading to the Canadiens.
Maietta Sports Media floated the deal on X, asking fans who says no. The timing is brutal for Vancouver, which sits 32nd overall at 2-9-1.
Montreal would get Pettersson with Vancouver retaining $2.5 million AAV. The Canucks would get Kirby Dach, prospects Alexander Zharovsky and Bryce Pickford, plus first-round picks in 2027 and 2028.
Thursday's 5-2 loss to Detroit was the ninth straight for Manny Malhotra's group. The Swede's goal was his only shot on goal in 20:48 of ice time.
All four of his goals this season have come on the power play. He hasn't found the back of the net once at even strength.
And the recent trend is ugly. He's gone minus-5 over his last five games, on a team allowing 4.7 goals per game.
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Nick Suzuki's injury puts Kent Hughes on the clock
The reason this one has legs in Montreal is simple. Nick Suzuki is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury, expected out until at least Nov. 18.
Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 12 points in 9 games. Losing that output for weeks puts real strain on Martin St-Louis and his forward group.
Ivan Demidov is on injured reserve too, out until at least Oct. 31. The Canadiens head into tonight's game in Chicago at 4-3-2.
So does Kent Hughes empty the pick cupboard in October for an $11.6 million cap hit?
Retention drops it to $9.1 million. That would still sit second only to Noah Dobson on the Montreal payroll.
Think of retention as a seller knocking a few grand off a house with a leaky roof. Nice gesture, but the roof still leaks.
Dach is the easiest piece to part with. He has one assist through nine games and hasn't recorded a point over his last five.
Moving his $3.6 million cap hit would free up room on the books, too.
But two firsts and two prospects on top of Dach is an overpay. Hughes should hang up the phone.
From Vancouver's chair, the math reads differently. Kevin Lankinen owns an .807 save percentage, and no pick in 2027 fixes that this winter.
The teams don't meet until Feb. 1 in Vancouver. By then, the Canucks will have to decide whether No. 40 is part of the fix or the price of it.
Should Kent Hughes give up two first-round picks and Kirby Dach for Elias Pettersson?
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