The Vancouver Canucks will figure to be active in this year’s trade market. The club has a couple of onerous contracts it would love to shed.
And none of those contracts is bigger than that of Elias Pettersson’s. Ever since Pettersson signed an eight-year, $92.8 million contract, speculation has been rampant about how bad the deal has aged.
It’s only gotten worse in its first two seasons, with the Canucks forward being the subject of abundant trade chatter. That chatter has intensified thanks to a recent rumor report in RG Media.
In the piece, Marco D’Amico cites an anonymous league source claiming that the LA Kings figure to be the best destination for the 27-year-old center.
“I’ve heard Pettersson is available, but that would likely require a team to take on the entire $11.6 million cap hit. Still, I feel the L.A. Kings, who have a ton of cap space and not too many assets to trade, would be all over this.”
The Kings would be no shock to anyone paying attention. The team lost its top center, Anze Kopitar, to retirement this season. There’s also a good chance that the Kings could lose trade deadline acquisition, Scott Laughton.
As such, the Kings would have two gaping needs down the middle, with the Canucks forward being a potential option.
Canucks-Kings Deal Would Depend on LA Taking Pettersson’s Full Cap Hit
The elephant in the room would be Pettersson’s $11.6 million cap hit. That’s not chump change by any means. Fortunately, the Kings do have some cap space to play with. They have a little over $18 million this season.
However, most of the cap space would go up in smoke by adding the Canucks former first-round pick to the books. That situation could only leave about $6 million or so to re-sign Laughton, and potentially add other pieces up front and on the blueline.
Oh, and there’s also the matter bf re-signing RFA Brandt Clarke, and potentially adding another goaltender. The team’s current tandem, Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg, is under contract for one more year.
That’s why the Kings might have to send a contract back to the Canucks in order to clear up enough space to make the math work. Otherwise, the Kings may have to make a separate deal to fit everyone under the cap.
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What Would Vancouver Realistically Expect to Get in Return?
So, realistically speaking, the Canucks shouldn’t expect to get much in return for Pettersson. By taking on the full cap hit, the Kings could play hardball and knock the price tag down.
Since Vancouver is rebuilding, the Kings could center their return around futures. A second-round pick and a third or fourth-rounder could get the job done. Perhaps a combination of a couple of mid-round picks and a decent prospect might get the job done.
A prospect like Vojtech Cihar or even Jakub Dvorak, bundled with, say, a second-round and a fourth-round pick, could move the needle.
The key to keep in mind here is that Pettersson holds a no-trade clause. So, Kings’ GM Ken Holland could play a little tough and twist the Canucks’ arm much the way he did with the New York Rangers.
In the meantime, it doesn’t look like a deal will be happening any time soon. But there’s a growing sense that it could happen this summer.
Canucks $92.8M Forward Linked to West Coast Rival, New Rumor