Surging Eastern Conference team predicated as perfect landing spot for Elias Pettersson
Photo credit: Bob Frid - Imagn Images.
An Eastern Conference club has been suggested as a potential landing spot for Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson as his name continue to circulate in trade rumors.
We're officially less than a week away from the National Hockey League's roster freeze for the 2026 Winter Olympics and trade talks are starting to heat up, with teams like the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers expected to be big time sellers.
While there's no guarantee he'll be on his way out of town before the March 6th deadline, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson continues to draw interest from clubs around the National Hockey League, but his high salary and no-movement clause is going to make completing a trade very difficult.
Obviously, every club in the National Hockey League has untouchables, but management of the Vancouver Canucks is now using the rebuild word, so they have to be open for business, open for just about anything, and that might include finally trading Elias Pettersson. Now, we know that there's been a ton of speculation from a media perspective on Pettersson's future with the Vancouver Canucks. That was more into the off-season, more last season than to this point." TSN's Darren Dreger said earlier this month.
Surging Eastern Conference team named as potential landing spot for Elias Pettersson
In a recent article for Daily Faceoff, Matt Larkin named eight potential trade destinations for Elias Pettersson, among them being the Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings.
Also named as a potential landing spot for the Sundsvall, Sweden native is the Buffalo Sabres, who have been red-hot since early December and currently occupy third place in the Atlantic Division with a 31-17-5 record in 53 games.
Larkin believes with the Buffalo Sabres wanting to end their playoff drought, they have the assets required to make a big splash and could use one of their top young players like Jiri Kulich or Konsta Helenius to get a deal done with the Canucks.
"The Sabres have waited 15 years to make the playoffs. They finally have a truly competitive and deep team. They have an aggressive GM on board in Jarmo Kekalainen, who has a history of taking bold swings to get what he wants, having once dealt Ryan Johansen for Seth Jones mid-season. The Sabres have long exceeded a critical mass of young talent in the system, which means (a) they have plenty to spare, whether it would mean including a Konsta Helenius or Jiri Kulich or someone else along with a first-round pick in a trade package." Larkin said.
While Buffalo would get a big boost by adding Elias Pettersson, they also need to think long-term and with forward Alex Tuch set to become a free agent this summer and reportedly seeking $10 million annually, they might not have the cap space to bring in former fifth overall pick, but as everyone knows in this game, you can never say never.
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Trade in the works reported after Pacific Division general manager is spotted scouting the Vancouver Canucks
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily