The Vancouver Canucks have a tough path forward, and after finishing the 2025/26 season as the worst team in the National Hockey League, they will pick at No. 3 in the 2026 NHL Draft. That will allow the team to land a very talented player of the future, along with some other valuable draft picks moving forward, but given all of their needs, it’s going to be a long few years for this organization.
Unfortunately for Vancouver, there are plenty of players that don’t have the time to be patient as the team develops, with many questioning the futures of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and others. The organization already have plenty of players that can wait things out such as Zeev Buium and Marco Rossi, but after trading Quinn Hughes this past season, the questions over some key pieces have not stopped.
Does Marcus Pettersson Want Out?
GettyMarcus Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks.
One very public comment recently came out about veteran defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who was acquired by the team in February of 2025, with reporter Sheng Peng stating on the San Jose Hockey Now podcast that Pettersson may be willing to open up trade conversations with the Canucks.
“Pettersson is motivated to move, I think. That’s what I understand,” Peng said. “That’s what I think. I don’t know that for sure.”
Clearly as he states, Peng wasn’t confirming that Pettersson has asked out or wants to be dealt by the Canucks, but was rather speculating with his limited information, but given the way that things like these get out these days, it seemingly became a story in Vancouver.
Marcus Pettersson Refutes Trade Story Through his Agent
It became such a story that Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal contacted Pettersson’s agent to get clarification on the situation, and now as a result, he’s revealed that Pettersson has absolutely no intention of requesting or looking for a trade out of Vancouver.
This report comes after Pettersson signed a six-year contract worth $5.5 million per season heading into 2025/26, and while some Canucks fans would love to see the team get out of a deal like this, unless something significantly changes, it appears as though the 30-year-old is locked in for five more seasons. Perhaps why this became such a big story is that Pettersson has a full no-movement clause for the first three years, and beyond that he still has a 15-team no-trade list, meaning that unless Pettersson wants out, he’ll remain in Vancouver.
In his first full season for the Canucks, the talented defenseman had 3 goals and 18 points across all 82 games played in Vancouver, and given that the team struggled immensely, it’s no surprise that he posted a differential of -19. At some point, the Canucks would ideally like to trade some of their veterans, but with the team still relatively early into their rebuild, guys like Pettersson will be sticking around, and while that may change at some point, Marcus has confirmed that he doesn’t want to go anywhere just yet.
Marcus Pettersson Shuts Down Rumors Over his Future With the Vancouver Canucks