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Elias Pettersson

Fallout From The Mikko Rantanen Trade

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After one of the biggest in-season acquisitions since the New Jersey Devils acquired Ilya Kovalchuk for a massive haul in the 2009-10 season, more information has begun trickling out regarding Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes.

In an article in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Pierre LeBrun explains that only a few teams knew Rantanen was available. LeBrun indicates that Colorado’s first intention was to extend Mikko, but general manager Chris MacFarland had already called a few teams, saying they may call back about the Finnish sniper. 

Extension talks between Rantanen and the Avalanche had increased over the last few weeks. However, the ’Nathan MacKinnon-internal cap’ gave MacFarland the sense that Mikko wouldn’t sign an extension in the next five months. LeBrun believes Rantanen would have taken less money than Leon Draisaitl received from the Edmonton Oilers ($14MM) but wasn’t willing to make such a drastic cut that he made less than MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.

Unsurprisingly, Cory Lavalette from the North State Journal reports the Hurricanes have already had preliminary extension discussions with Rantanen’s agent. Given their history together on Team Finland, Rantanen is already familiar with Sebastian Aho, but he’ll want to get comfortable in Carolina before talks can progress.

As far as what that hypothetical extension may look like — Harman Dayal took a stab at that in a recent article on The Athletic (Subscription Required). Dayal argues that Rantanen’s fairest comparable is Boston Bruins’ forward David Pastrňák who was given 13.5% of the salary cap for the first year of his current contract.

Assuming the salary cap increases to the reported $97 million for next season, that would place Rantanen around the $13.1 million range. It’s already been made clear that Rantanen and his agent have other ideas, as he and the Avalanche likely could have worked out an agreeable salary should that have been the starting point.

Lastly, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman offered some insight regarding the main piece heading back to Colorado — Martin Nečas. Friedman asserts that the Avalanche were not the only team Nečas had been offered to. He believes Nečas was a part of recent trade discussions with the Vancouver Canucks for Elias Pettersson, but not for J.T. Miller.

The acquisition of Rantanen and Taylor Hall likely wraps up all of the headling-making trades for the Hurricanes. Still, despite the cap surgery required for the move, the Hurricanes could circle back on Miller if the Canucks are open to other players on Carolina’s roster.

Canucks’ J.T. Miller Trade Falls Through, Elias Pettersson Wants To Stay

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The Vancouver Canucks are at an impasse with star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Both players are amidst deep cold spells, inspired by an off-ice rift and resulting in plenty of trade rumors. The team took one step forward in figuring out their plan with the duo on Saturday when Miller was nearly held out of Vancouver’s lineup to support a trade to the New York Rangers per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal fell through and Miller ended up playing in Vancouver’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He contributed two primary points in the effort, his first scoring since he managed four points on January 6th.

Miller’s dwindling impact has become a focal point of Vancouver’s 4-6-0 skid. Head coach Rick Tocchet shared harsh words after benching the forward, insinuating that he had quit on his teammates amid another tough loss. Miller has seen his numbers crater since the calendar turned over. He has seven points in nine games – most among any Canucks forwards – but he only scored in three of those outings. Miller has also posted a 40% goals-for percentage (GF%), the third-lowest of Vancouver’s top-six forwards behind Pettersson (25%) and Jake DeBrusk (33.3%).

While theatrics surround him, Miller is still an incredibly impactful forward. He has 31 points in 35 games this season, putting him on an 82-game pace of 73 points. That would be the lowest scoring Miller has managed in a full season since the 2019-20 campaign when he notched 72 points in his first year with the Canucks. He’s since been red-hot – recording 99 points in 2021-22, 82 points in 2022-23, and a career-high 103 points in 2023-24. No other Canuck has come close to Miller’s 433 points in 399 games since he joined the team, with Quinn Hughes’ 380 points in 401 games and Pettersson’s 375 points in as many games the next closest.

That would be an invaluable impact for the Rangers to acquire. They’re in the midst of their own chaotic season, with similar rifts and trade rumors surrounding longtime Rangers Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. A swap for Miller would likely have to involve one of those two, though Vancouver would need substantially more behind them to warrant moving their team’s top-scoring forward. The Rangers have enticing prospects in the gritty Brennan Othmann and ever-improving Gabe Perreault, but their depth falls quickly thin behind them. Perhaps it was the challenge of figuring out complimentary pieces that ultimately pulled the rug from under the trade talks.

Nonetheless, this news is a sign of progress being made in moving Miller out of Vancouver. He’ll be one of the biggest names to watch as the NHL Trade Deadline approaches on March 7th. Meanwhile, Pettersson is leaning towards sticking with the program that bet on him so many years ago. Vancouver drafted Pettersson fifth-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. He joined the team two seasons later, and won the Calder Trophy for ’Rookie of the Year’ with 28 goals and 66 points in 71 games. He matched the scoring in three fewer games in his following year, after improved on it slightly in year-four after year-three was limited by injuries.

That all set up Pettersson for a smash season in the 2022-23 campaign, when he scored a career-high 39 goals and 102 points. It was the fifth-most a Canucks player has scored since the turn of the century – behind the Sedin twins, Markus Naslund, and Miller. While Miller has taken to dazzling scoring, Pettersson has donned the role of face of the franchise next to Hughes. Vancouver seems poised to hold onto that duo, while trimming off negative impacts, with this latest update.

In one additional note, Friedman also shared that Vancouver sent a clear message to teams to not tamper with their players – and that any teams wishing to talk to Miller or Pettersson would need approval first. It is believed that a few teams have been granted permission to talk with Miller, but none are currently speaking with Pettersson. Both forwards are signed for the forseeable future – Petterson signed through 2031-32 with a $11.6MM cap hit, and Miller signed through 2029-30 with a surprisingly-cheap $8MM price tag.

Canucks Activate Elias Pettersson From Injured Reserve

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The Canucks activated center Elias Pettersson from injured reserve on Friday, according to general manager Patrik Allvin. He’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes after missing six games with an undisclosed injury.

Pettersson’s stint on IR came amid a spike in trade rumors regarding the 26-year-old pivot, whose speculated rift with teammate J.T. Miller has caused Vancouver to at least start examining the trade market for both players. He was nearly dealt to the Hurricanes last season before opting to reengage with the Canucks on a contract extension, signing an eight-year, $92.8MM pact in March.

Now back to full health, Pettersson will look to build on what’s been a disappointing campaign in the first season of his contract with an $11.6MM cap hit. He’d been limited to 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 34 games before the injury, tracking for his worst points-per-game pace since his injury-plagued 2020-21 campaign.

Somewhat ironically, the 2017 fifth-overall pick played his best hockey this season when Miller was out of the lineup on a personal leave for much of November and December. In 10 games without Miller, he exploded for 13 assists and added a pair of goals for 15 points.

Upon Miller’s return, Pettersson went on a six-game pointless streak. He got back on the score sheet with a pair of goals against the Sharks on Dec. 23 before leaving that contest with the ailment that landed him on IR.

The Canucks have an open roster spot after assigning goaltender Arturs Silovs to AHL Abbotsford on Thursday, so no corresponding transaction is needed for him to re-enter the lineup. Pettersson has had a rotating cast of wingers this season, spending significant time with Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Nils Höglander, and Kiefer Sherwood, and since the Canucks didn’t take a morning skate today, it’s hard to project where he’ll slot in the lineup.

Vancouver Canucks Fielding Offers On Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller

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There was one major talking point in tonight’s rendition of ’Saturday Headlines’ with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Friedman reports the Vancouver Canucks are fielding offers on forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller with all options currently on the table.

Friedman asserts the Canucks are “definitely” looking at the market for both forwards but it appears to be a stronger version of due diligence rather than active trade talks up to this point. There’s a possibility neither are traded, one is, or both are traded and Friedman wasn’t willing to commit to any of the options. Still, the trade chatter has gotten to the point of Vancouver telling interested parties they’ll need an NHL-caliber center as a part of the return package for either player.

Due to the complexity of any hypothetical trade involving Pettersson or Miller, there haven’t been many legitimate connections to any teams. Friedman pointed out that neither player had requested a trade from the Canucks although Miller would likely prefer to return to the United States.

There appears to be something brewing in Vancouver though. In a recent interview with Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, the general manager of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin spoke candidly about Pettersson saying, “Petey has shown up to this point that he is an extremely talented, quality player that could and should be a No. 1 centre. I believe in him. I believe that he’s capable. (But) he needs to mature and understand that there are certain expectations and it does not get easier. And you need to face the music when things don’t go well. Is it (a trade) possible? I guess I would say anything is possible.”

It doesn’t take much scrutiny to notice the apparent rift between them. This year alone, Pettersson scored two goals and 15 points in the 10 games Miller missed from mid-November to mid-December. Throughout 23 games playing with Miller this season, Pettersson has eight goals and 13 points in 23 contests. Miller has been a consistent performer regardless of Pettersson’s availability but he may hold less value in Vancouver given he’s five years Petterson’s elder.

Miller has more control over a potential trade given the no-movement clause in his contract and Pettersson’s not starting until next year. Still, Pettersson’s contract may be more difficult to move given his $11.6MM salary compared to Miller’s $8MM price tag.

It will be an interesting saga to see play out regardless. This is an issue that the Canucks could continue an attempt to solve internally. However, being no stranger to moves of magnitude, GM Allvin may take it upon himself to create a resolution via trade.

Canucks Notes: Demko, Pettersson, Hughes, Joshua, Schneider

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Speaking with reporters following Friday’s loss to Nashville, head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link) that goaltender Thatcher Demko, defenseman Quinn Hughes, and center Elias Pettersson will all travel on their upcoming five-game road trip.  Additionally, he’d be “shocked” if they didn’t suit up at some point over that stretch.  Those three are obviously three of Vancouver’s top players and getting them back would help their chances of snapping their current drought that has seen them lose six of their last eight games.  Their returns would also result in some players being sent down, opening up more cap space which is notable for a management team that’s known to prefer to strike early on the trade front.

More from Vancouver:

  • There might be another cause for concern on the injury front as well. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that winger Dakota Joshua was banged up with a lower-body injury last night against Nashville and even though he returned to finish the game, he might not be fully healthy now as well.  Joshua has struggled this season since returning from his battle with testicular cancer and has been limited to just four points in 24 games although he sits second on the team with 83 hits.
  • In a separate piece from Johnston, he relays that Vancouver has been interested in Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere and defenseman Braden Schneider for quite some time. While Lafreniere isn’t likely to be moved having signed a long-term extension earlier this season, their interest in Schneider likely still stands, especially since he plays the type of role they tried to fill with Vincent Desharnais over the summer, a move that hasn’t worked out so far.  Of course, Schneider is only 23 and with New York struggling, he might not be the type of player they’re necessarily looking to move.

Canucks Place Elias Pettersson On IR, Recall Arturs Silovs On Emergency Basis

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There will be a small change to the goaltending position for the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The organization announced they’ve recalled netminder Arturs Silovs on an emergency basis and placed Elias Pettersson on injured reserve retroactive to December 23rd.

Vancouver hasn’t issued any formal updates regarding Thatcher Demko’s status. He left yesterday’s game against the Seattle Kraken during the second period and didn’t join the team’s practice this morning per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army. There are some obvious concerns with Demko given that he went nearly eight months without participating in an NHL contest due to a popliteal muscle injury.

Still, one player’s misfortune is another player’s opportunity. Silovs will look to rebound on a disappointing start to the 2024-25 NHL season. He filled in for Demko at the beginning of the year but struggled immensely with a 1-4-1 record in seven games with a .847 save percentage and a 4.11 goals-against average.

Silovs has understandably been much better with the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He’s managed a 2-3-0 record in five games with a .900 SV% and 2.44 GAA. It’s a far cry from the performance of a netminder that took the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the 2024 playoffs. Still, Silovs will look to show he can be a long-term answer to Vancouver’s backup role.

Pettersson’s move to the injured reserve is largely a formal transaction. He’s been out with an undisclosed injury since the team’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks before the holiday break but is expected back soon. The Canucks haven’t offered much context regarding Petterson’s injury but he will join the team for their upcoming five-game road trip starting next Monday. He’s already eligible to be activated during any of those contests.

Morning Notes: Hughes, Pettersson, Murray, Skinner

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Exactly how much longer the Canucks will remain without stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson remains to be seen. The club certainly won’t have their services for this week’s intra-division road trip, though, head coach Rick Tocchet told Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.

Pettersson’s return is more imminent than Hughes’, Tocchet said. Pettersson hasn’t been ruled out for Friday’s home game against the Predators, but a return on Monday in Montreal seems more likely, with Tocchet saying Pettersson will likely miss another week. Hughes’ timeline is muddier. After missing Saturday’s overtime loss to the Kraken with an undisclosed injury, he’s been labeled week to week and could likely miss another five games at a minimum.

The latter’s absence is an especially tough one to swallow for the Canucks, who have won one out of their last five games and are already missing their No. 2 defenseman, Filip Hronek, for another few weeks. Hughes has easily been their most valuable player this season, leading the club in scoring with 42 points (8 G, 34 A) in 34 games and ranking second among NHL defensemen in points behind the Avalanche’s Cale Makar. He’s averaging 25:08 per game and posting better offensive and defensive possession metrics at even strength than last season’s Norris Trophy-winning campaign.

Hughes missing action wouldn’t be so awful if Vancouver had their second-best offensive producer this season. But they won’t have Pettersson, who has 10 goals and 28 points through 34 appearances, for the time being, either. Like Hughes, the 26-year-old has only missed one game with an undisclosed injury so far.

More from across the league this morning:

  • The Maple Leafs have continued to shuffle NHL backup options in the absence of emergent No. 1 Anthony Stolarz. Veteran Matt Murray has been returned to AHL Toronto with Dennis Hildeby coming up to take his place for the time being, the team announced. Murray, 30, has allowed seven goals on 58 shots faced in two starts this month while sitting behind Joseph Woll on the depth chart, his first NHL action since the end of the 2022-23 regular season. In a small sample size, that tracks as a career-worst .879 SV% and 3.54 GAA for the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Hildeby’s NHL numbers this season haven’t been any better with a .875 SV% in three starts, but he does have a .916 SV% in his last four minor-league contests. It’s unclear if this is a paper move to extend Murray’s waiver-exempt period or if the Leafs intend on rostering Hildeby for tomorrow’s matinee game against the Islanders.
  • Oilers winger Jeff Skinner sat in the press box while healthy for the first time in a while yesterday as Edmonton was upset 5-3 by the Ducks. It was a foreseeable result, writes Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Skinner had no points and a -4 rating in his five most recent outings, and the 32-year-old has been an overall disappointment with only six goals and 12 points in 35 games after signing a one-year, $3MM pact with the Oilers following a buyout by the Sabres. He’s now averaging 12:58 per game on the year, the lowest usage of his 15-year NHL career, and his 48.6% shot-attempt share at 5-on-5 is also a career low.

Canucks Recall Three, Hughes And Pettersson Doubtful For Saturday

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The Vancouver Canucks made three recalls today, bringing forwards Phil Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson up to the big club from Abbotsford as well as defenseman Guillaume Brisebois. The moves were likely made as a precaution since it appears that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be able to play tomorrow night (as per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army).

The 31-year-old Di Giuseppe is a veteran of 285 NHL games and has dressed in three NHL games this season for Vancouver, posting two assists. The nine-year veteran was in the AHL for just a handful of days and didn’t play during that time, earning his AHL salary of $500K rather than the $775K he earns at the NHL level. He played three times for Vancouver last week, including this past Monday night against San Jose.

Sasson has provided solid depth scoring this season, both in the NHL and AHL. With Vancouver this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and four helpers in 12 games, while in the AHL his offensive numbers are a shade better, posting four goals and five assists in 16 games. The Birmingham, Michigan native was undrafted out of the USHL and has carved out a solid but brief professional career thus far, reaching the NHL in his second full season of pro hockey.

Brisebois returns to Vancouver after having spent the entire season with Abbotsford. The 27-year-old dressed in 17 NHL games two seasons ago but has not seen NHL action since. It’s unlikely he will dress tomorrow night as the Canucks have seven healthy defensemen right now, and Brisebois will most likely serve as the seventh defender. Brisebois has just a single goal in 23 AHL games this season.

As far as the injuries to Pettersson and Hughes go, both players were being re-evaluated today by Canucks medical staff before the team makes a final judgement on their availability tomorrow.

Snapshots: NCAA Recruitment, Colorado, Lekkerimäki

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The NCAA commitment window opened to the 2008 birth year on August 1st, bringing another wave of top young players to the collegiate level. International recruits have so far headlined this year’s class, with five Europeans and 13 Canadians already announcing their commitments. Among the notable international commits is hefty centerman Caleb Malhotra, who went eighth overall to Kingston in this year’s OHL Draft, but solidified his plans to play outside of the OHL with a commitment to Boston University. Malhotra is emerging as a top Canadian in the 2008 birth year – even despite battles with injury this season. He played in just 48 games, though he still did enough to score at a point-per-game pace and earn a five-star rating from PuckPreps, who praised his mobility and puck skills.

Malhotra – the son of longtime Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra – is a cerebral playmaker, who knows how to use his frame and stickhandling to create space. With a college commitment out of the way, he’s now set for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. Malhotra is undeniably one of the BCHL’s top recruits and will now look to vindicate the expectations around him, and quickly bounce back from injury, by finding scoring quickly at the juniors level. If all goes well, he’ll enter BU with the same lofty expectations.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have announced they’ve hired Kim Weiss as a video coach and Matt Zaba as a goalie coach. Weiss moves to the pro level after becoming the first female coach in D-III history this season, serving behind the bench of her alma mater Trinity College. Trinity won their conference championship under Weiss’ guard – earning her a ring after losing in the NAHL’s 2023 Robertson Cup semifinals with the Maryland Black Bears. Zaba is also moving from American juniors, having spent the last seven seasons as the goalie coach for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s built up multiple NHL prospects over that span, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Larson, Calgary Flames prospect Arseni Sergeyev, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Isaiah Saville. He’ll now join that trio at the AHL level – coaching in familiar territory after starting his career at Colorado College. Zaba is also an alum of one NHL game, 66 AHL games, and 31 ECHL games – though much of his personal playing career was spent in Austria and Italy.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are facing a list of lineup questions as training camp approaches, shares Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who highlighted the right-wing role next to Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson as the team’s most glaring hole. Drance mentioned Nils Hoglander as an early favorite for the role, though he’ll face pressure from new signee Daniel Sprong. However, Drance also noted that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki could be a dark horse to round out what should be Vancouver’s scoring line. Lekkerimäki won the SHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award last season, after posting 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with Örebro HK. He signed his entry-level contract and moved to the AHL after Örebro’s early playoff exit – adding two points in six more games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimäki is an effective scorer, with an eye for the offensive zone and hard snapshot – though his size has some worried about how he’ll adjust to the next step. It seems he’ll have a chance to answer that bell at training camp, as he fights for a significant role out of the gates.

Canucks Notes: Boeser, Pettersson, DeSmith, Myers

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Canucks winger Brock Boeser won’t have his offseason training routine interrupted by the blood clotting issue that kept him out of their second-round Game 7 loss to the Oilers, he said during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650). All indications point to him being ready for the beginning of training camp in the fall.

That’s because Boeser’s clot had a clear root cause – a shot he blocked during Game 1 of the Edmonton series, he disclosed. He didn’t notice bruising or pain until roughly a week after the game and went for scans after their Game 6 loss that showed enough clotting to prevent him from suiting up.

While a handful of important Canucks players could be moving on this summer in free agency, Boeser won’t be one of them. He’ll be back in B.C. as he completes the final season of a three-year, $19.95MM extension signed by GM of the Year finalist Patrik Allvin back in July 2022.

Boeser’s resurgence to his early-career form was one of the bigger reasons Vancouver captured its first division title since 2013. He set career-highs across the board with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games but is an unlikely bet to repeat that production after shooting 5.8% above his career average in the regular season.

Here’s more on the Canucks:

  • Star center Elias Pettersson offered an explanation today for his underwhelming play down the stretch and in the postseason, telling reporters he’s been playing through a knee injury since January (via Thomas Drance of The Athletic). Pettersson, whose point production dropped from 102 last season to 89 this year, won’t require surgery to address the issue but will need to rest and rehab the injury before beginning offseason training. The 2017 fifth-overall pick signed an eight-year, $92.8MM extension shortly before the trade deadline that carries an $11.6MM cap hit beginning next season.
  • The injury to backup Casey DeSmith in Game 3 of the first round against the Predators that forced third-stringer Arturs Silovs into action for Game 4 was a minor groin issue, DeSmith said today (via Batchelor). DeSmith, who had a .911 SV% and 2.02 GAA in two appearances against Nashville after starter Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1, said the team sat him for precautionary reasons and elected to play Silovs. He was available to play throughout the entire second round, but the younger Silovs remained between the pipes, compiling a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA and one shutout in the first 10 postseason starts of his career.
  • Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Tyler Myers said he’d like to return to Vancouver this summer (via Drance). The 34-year-old right-shot defender is coming off a five-year, $30MM contract that was hardly a good value proposition for the team, but the veteran had a decent season in a reduced role this year with 29 points and a +16 rating in 77 games. It was the only time he’d averaged less than 20 minutes per game in his 15-year career. Evolving Hockey projects a Myers extension in Vancouver to come in at $3.5MM per season for two years.

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