There have already been major organizational changes for the Vancouver Canucks, who suffered through one of the worst seasons in recent memory, finishing dead last in the Western Conference for 2025-26.
The Canucks terminated general manager Patrik Allvin, replacing him with former Vancouver forward Ryan Johnson; one of his first major moves was to fire head coach Adam Foote, and replace him with Manny Malhotra (another former Canucks forward), who recently led the American Hockey League affiliate Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup title.
Meanwhile, one of the major questions on the minds of Canucks fans everywhere concerns the future of forward Elias Pettersson, who was heavily involved in trade rumors in the months and weeks leading up to the March 6 Deadline, though he ultimately remained in place through the end of the campaign.
NHL Insider Drops Key Update On Elias Pettersson’s Future With The Vancouver Canucks
Because of the complexity that trading away a player like Pettersson (and his contract) involves, NHL Insider Frank Corrado believes that the former 2017 first round selection will ultimately still be with the club when it comes time to play their first game of the upcoming campaign in October.
“I think he is with the team when the season starts because it’s too complex of a deal to pull off at this point,” Corrado said.
He continued:
“You almost have to know what he is going to be,” he said. “So we have our perceptions as far as what has gone wrong the last couple of seasons for him. Didn’t come into camp prepared and ready to go.”
How Pettersson performs in the early goings of the upcoming season could also go a long way in determining whether or not momentum shifts on a potential deal, in Corrado’s mind.
“So he’s either going to go into the season, and he’s going to play better or well,” Corrado said. “And teams are going to look at it and say, ‘OK, we want to talk now.'”
“Or he’s going to be just as bad as he was. And then Vancouver is just going to wash their hands with it and say, ‘We’re done here.'”
Last season, Pettersson scored 15 goals with 36 assists in 74 games played for the Canucks. He’s tallied 200 goals with 308 assists in 545 career games.
Pettersson Was Recently Seen Training At The Practice Facility Of The Los Angeles Kings
Meanwhile, Corrado also cautioned Canucks fans from reading too much into recent videos and photos showing Pettersson working out at the practice facility of the divisional rival Los Angeles Kings.
“It’s totally normal, and it happens in every market, and it’s going to happen in Vancouver with players that live in Vancouver that are going to skate with the Canucks players when they all come to town,” Corrado explained.
“It happened in Toronto. Funny enough, though, when I was playing for the Leafs, there was this mandate that we were closing the doors, and all the local guys that were NHLers were no longer allowed to skate with us.”
NHL Insider Drops Major Update On Elias Pettersson’s Future With Canucks