The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Quinn Hughes of Orlando, Florida and left winger Kiefer Sherwood of Columbus, Ohio in the last month. There is a growing belief in the hockey world that this is just the start of a substantial rebuild by the Canucks. Now the question is who will be next? According to Rogers Sportsnet, the Canucks could soon be looking for another trade partner that is interested in the services of center Elias Pettersson of Sundsvall, Sweden.
Not the first time Pettersson has been involved in rumors
It was just a year ago that the Canucks were looking at trading either J.T. Miller or Pettersson. The Canucks forwards were simply not getting along and Canucks management decided to trade Miller to the New York Rangers, and keep Pettersson. The fact that Miller was the one on the block came as zero surprise because the Canucks had just signed Pettersson to an eight-year contract worth $92.8 million on March 3, 2024.
Will be tough finding a team interested in Pettersson
The Canucks will have a tough time trading Pettersson. That is because Pettersson has not met expectations on Canada’s west coast. One reason has been because of sloppy defensive play. Pettersson is a -27 over the last two seasons, and is a -17 in 2025-26. Pettersson has only won 46.1% of his faceoff draws, and has 18 more giveaways this season (38) than takeaways (20).
Pettersson’s 2025-26 NHL statistics
This season, Pettersson has 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points. He has 14 penalty minutes, 10 power-play points, one shorthanded point, 84 shots on goal, 395 faceoff wins, 64 blocked shots and 35 hits.
Career achievements with the Canucks
Pettersson has been a NHL All-Star four times with the Canucks (2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23 and 2023-24). In his first season in Vancouver, Pettersson had 66 points in 71 games. was on the All-Rookie team, and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. Then in 2022-23, Pettersson had career-highs in assists (63), and points (102), and led the NHL in shorthanded goals (five). Pettersson is one of seven Canucks in franchise history to record 100 points in a season. He is joined by fellow Swedes Henrik Sedin (112 in 2009-10), Daniel Sedin (104 in 2010-11) and Markus Naslund (104 in 2002-03), Russians Pavel Bure (110 in 1992-93 and 107 in 1993-94) and Alexander Mogilny (107 in 1995-96), and Miller (103 in 2023-24).
Hurricanes showing the most interest
The team showing the most interest in Pettersson at the moment are the Hurricanes. There is pressure in Carolina to win now, and Pettersson’s addition could get them over the hump.
Worst team in the NHL
The Canucks have 37 points. The fewest points in the NHL.
