Canucks Stay Open on Pettersson Trade Amid Montreal Interest

Thomas Drance reported on Sportsnet 650 that the Vancouver Canucks remain motivated to trade Elias Pettersson even though no deal sits imminent on June 27 2026.

Canucks Hold Sense of Preferred Destinations

The Canucks have not collected a formal list of teams from Pettersson yet still possess a clear sense of destinations he would accept, according to Drance. This informal intelligence allows Vancouver to gauge interest without triggering his full no-move clause immediately. Teams that have already inquired know any eventual package must clear the 11.6 million dollar annual cap hit that runs through 2030.

Ryan Johnson previously noted the club is not scurrying between agents for written preferences. Instead, Vancouver waits for serious offers to surface and only then loops in protected players such as Pettersson. The approach avoids premature leakage while preserving leverage if a deal nears completion.

Multiple league sources confirmed to Drance that the Canucks will engage once negotiations reach a close point. That stance marks a shift from earlier this offseason when management publicly backed the 27-year-old center after his 2024-25 struggles.

Montreal Interest Surfaces While Market Value Drops

Rick Dhaliwal and Patrick Johnson each reported that the Montreal Canadiens have expressed interest in Pettersson. The Canadiens sit among several clubs that view the 11.6 million dollar salary as approaching replacement level for a middle-six pivot rather than a top-line driver.

Drance explained that contending teams now calculate Pettersson’s future output closer to a standard second-line center than the 80-plus point producer he once was. Acquiring clubs therefore price in only a modest bounce-back probability instead of paying a premium for star upside.

This valuation gap creates the window Vancouver needs. A team willing to absorb the full contract can still attach a first-round pick and a prospect because the 11.6 million dollar figure no longer carries an automatic overpayment penalty. The Canucks, conversely, gain immediate cap space and draft capital that a retention deal alone would not deliver.

Timeline and Asset Expectations Shape Next Moves

Drance emphasized nothing will happen before the 2026 NHL Draft on June 25-27. Any trade requires the market to stabilize after free agency opens on July 1, when comparable center salaries become public benchmarks.

If Montreal or another suitor submits an offer that includes a protected first-round pick and a young top-four defenseman, Vancouver could move quickly. The 11.6 million dollar savings would then fund extensions for restricted free agents and fill roster holes created by the departure of a former 100-point scorer.

Should no acceptable package materialize by the October 2026 trade deadline, the Canucks risk entering another season with the same cap constraint and diminished trade value if Pettersson’s production stays flat.

The 2027 draft class offers another reset opportunity. By then the Canucks could have shed the contract entirely while acquiring two first-round picks and a roster player, exactly the type of return that accelerates a rebuild around Quinn Hughes.