Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks got dragged into a fresh trade pitch Thursday night, with Quinton Byfield coming back the other way.
David Pagnotta floated the one-for-one swap on DFO Insider. No active deal has been reported, but the fact that it's being floated at all says plenty about Vancouver right now.
The Canucks are 3-11-1 and sit 32nd overall. Nobody in the NHL is lower.
It's getting worse, too. They've gone 1-8-1 over their last 10, capped by Thursday's 3-2 loss in San Jose.
Manny Malhotra's group hosts Toronto on Saturday, and the crease won't calm anyone down. Kevin Lankinen is 0-7 with an .807 save percentage.
The cap math is the hook. Pettersson carries an $11.6 million hit, 15th highest in the league, while Byfield sits at $6.25 million.
Every Elias Pettersson goal this season came on the power play
That $5.35 million gap would hand GM Ryan Johnson, hired in May, real room to reshape a roster that's been outscored 68-45.
Here's the problem for any buyer. The Swedish forward has four goals this season, and every one of them came with the man advantage.
He's still producing, with 16 points in 15 games. On Thursday he logged 21:25 in San Jose and picked up an assist.
But at even strength? Held scoreless. For a player paid like a franchise cornerstone, that's a tough look in any pro scouting meeting.
The Los Angeles forward, meanwhile, had a loud Thursday of his own. He scored the game-winner in a 6-5 overtime win over Ottawa and added an assist.
He fired five shots in that one. The rest of his year has been quieter, with four points through 10 games.
And he's a -6 for a Kings team that sits 4-6-2 and hosts Buffalo on Saturday.
Now look at the Los Angeles books. Artemi Panarin and Drew Doughty each carry $11 million cap hits, and Adrian Kempe is at $10.625 million.
Add Pettersson, and Peter Laviolette would be running a lineup with four eight-figure cap hits in his first season behind the bench.
That's a bad trade for the Kings. Paying top dollar for a forward who only scores on the power play is like buying a pickup that only starts when it's parked downhill.
Vancouver's side makes more sense. A 24-year-old forward on a cheaper deal fits a team that badly needs runway and flexibility.
And for anyone panicking on Canucks Twitter, the 22-year-old defenseman also named Elias Pettersson isn't part of this conversation.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki has four goals over his last five games. If No. 40 leaves, the kid suddenly carries a lot more of the top six.
The two clubs don't meet until December 12 in Los Angeles. Whether Pettersson is still in a Canucks sweater by then is a question nobody in that locker room can answer yet.
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Should the Canucks trade Elias Pettersson for Quinton Byfield?
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