Elias Pettersson’s physical start reshapes Canucks trade calculus

After two seasons of declining production and a contract widely viewed as a burden, Elias Pettersson has opened the new campaign with a level of intensity that is forcing a fresh look at his value. The Vancouver Canucks centre has six points in four games and is playing with a physical edge rarely associated with his name, reigniting both his on-ice impact and trade-market intrigue.

From elite centre to prolonged slump

In 2022-23, at age 24, Pettersson ranked among the NHL’s top offensive centres with 102 points and 39 goals. Among players at his position, only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon outscored him. A sixth-overall pick in 2017, he followed that up with 89 points the next season, while the Canucks finished sixth overall in the league standings and advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

A few months before that season ended, Vancouver committed to Pettersson with an eight-year contract worth $92.8 million, carrying an annual average value of $11.6 million. His first playoff showing after signing the deal was underwhelming — six points, including a single goal, in 13 games — as he played through knee tendinitis.

The following year, a toxic rift between Pettersson and J. T. Miller escalated, eventually leading to Miller’s trade to the New York Rangers and a sharp downturn in Pettersson’s performance. He produced 45 points in 64 games in 2024-25 and 51 points in 74 games last season. Vancouver quickly slid toward the bottom of the standings, launched an aggressive rebuild and tried, unsuccessfully, to move his sizable contract.

A new edge and a changing salary landscape

This fall, Pettersson has looked like a different player. Beyond his six points in four outings and a spot three points back of Connor McDavid in the scoring race, he currently leads the league in hits with 19. One heavy check on Calgary Flames rookie defenceman Zayne Parekh rattled the youngster and was followed shortly by a Canucks goal. Pettersson has also blocked six shots during this early stretch.

His resurgence comes as the NHL’s salary structure shifts upward. In 2024-25, only Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Artemi Panarin earned more per season than Pettersson. Starting next year, he is projected to sit 19th on the salary list, roughly $600,000 ahead of 26th place, while five players will clear the $15 million mark annually and three — Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini and Carlsson — are slated to earn at least $18 million.

In that context, his deal appears less suffocating, especially if he sustains respectable production. The Canucks, who are not expected to contend in the near term, still have Pettersson on the trade market. If Vancouver were to retain 25 percent of his salary, his cap hit would drop to $7.8 million, roughly in line with Nick Suzuki’s number and only slightly higher than the upcoming figures for J. J. Peterka, Zach Benson, Brock Nelson and Shane Pinto starting next season.

Teams eyeing a move will nonetheless be wary of the small sample size: four of Pettersson’s six points have come against the defensively vulnerable Edmonton Oilers. He did, however, close last season with 13 points over his final 16 games, hinting at a possible turnaround. Pettersson turns 28 in November and has six years left on his contract, including this one, ensuring that his situation will remain a major storyline on the trade front.

William Trudeau finally breaks through to the NHL

Elsewhere, defenceman William Trudeau offers a very different type of story. The 2021 fourth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens logged 260 consecutive games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket from 2022 to 2026 without a single NHL call-up.

After four full seasons in the minors, Trudeau was traded in June to the New York Rangers for Brett Berard. Placed on waivers last week in an attempt to send him back to the AHL, he was claimed by the Nashville Predators. Approaching his 24th birthday, he finally made his NHL debut on Saturday, an achievement that teammates and veterans in Nashville recognized after the game as the payoff for years of persistence.