The Hurricanes have "kicked the tires" on Canucks center Elias Pettersson, according to Bruce Garrioch, and Carolina is looking to add scoring.
It's a name that keeps coming back. Vancouver is 3-17-1 and has lost seven straight, and its best trade chip is suddenly in demand again.
There's a catch. Garrioch reports the Canucks aren't willing to retain any part of Pettersson's $11.6 million cap hit, which runs through 2031-32.
We first flagged Carolina's check-in on Pettersson Saturday, and the no-retention stance is what makes this one complicated.
This isn't new territory for these two clubs. Carolina was linked to Pettersson before he signed his current contract on March 3, 2024, and again this summer, when a deal was rumored to be close before Vancouver ramped up talks with his camp.
They spoke again in January 2025, right before the Hurricanes landed Mikko Rantanen instead.
The reason to call now is simple. Pettersson put up 102 points in 2022-23 and 89 in 2023-24, then fell to 45 and 51 over the past two seasons. This year he has five goals and 21 points through 21 games, and he led Vancouver with 15 points in October.
He's doing it on the worst team in the league, with a -6 rating and four of his five goals on the power play. Four of his 16 assists have come on the power play too.
Does Elias Pettersson to Carolina actually make sense?
On the ice, sure. Carolina is 16-3-2, first in the NHL, and Rod Brind'Amour's team has scored 87 goals. Adding a center producing at a point-per-game pace would only deepen a group that already has Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis.
On the books, it's a harder sell. Over the summer, David Pagnotta reported that Vancouver's new front office had softened its position and was open to retaining money, which would have dropped the number to about $8.6 million. Garrioch's report suggests that door has closed.
That means Carolina would almost certainly have to send salary back, and Pettersson holds a full no-movement clause, so he decides where he goes. Henrik Sedin also said Thursday that Vancouver won't sell just to collect picks, so the Canucks aren't desperate either.
Our view: the Hurricanes are the best team in hockey and don't need to absorb $11.6 million a year for six more seasons on the strength of 21 games, not after two years at 45 and 51 points. If the cap hit stays full, this is a deal for another team.
Vancouver plays at Vegas tonight, and Carolina's next game is Thursday against Montreal. Neither club has said a word publicly about Pettersson.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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