Insider Reports Ongoing Pettersson-to-Columbus Trade Talks
The NHL Trade Deadline is just under five weeks away, and things around the league are heating up.
One team that NHL insiders have been keeping a close eye on is the Vancouver Canucks.
According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Canucks may have found a new home for star forward Elias Pettersson.
Related: Canucks Insider Reveals Potential Pettersson-to-Columbus Trade Details
That’s right—you guessed it. The Columbus Blue Jackets could be one of the frontrunners in the Pettersson sweepstakes.
LeBrun appeared on TSN's Insider Trading and spoke about the possibility of a trade happening:
“I’d say it’s a little early to say [that any team is the frontrunner for Pettersson], but certainly a team to talk about would be the Columbus Blue Jackets. And it’s not surprising because they’ve got massive salary cap space.
So, as the Canucks make their rounds and talk to different teams on both J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, the conversation with the Jackets is on Pettersson. We’ll see whether these preliminary discussions, some of them very recent, can go next level.
But I think for Columbus, it’s the same question all the other teams that I’ve talked about Vancouver have, including a team like the Buffalo Sabres, who is Elias Pettersson right now? The Pettersson of old warranted that massive extension, but the one we’ve seen over the past year has a lot of teams wondering how much they want to give up.
What I’m sensing around the market, whether it’s Miller or Pettersson as teams are waiting to see if the Canucks were willing to bring their asking price down on either player before they engage more fully on either player.”
It makes sense for the Blue Jackets to pursue a star forward like Pettersson. They have the cap space to take on his contract and plenty of draft picks to use as trade chips.
Related: Could Columbus Be Players In The J.T. Miller Sweepstakes?
If GM Don Waddell can negotiate the asking price down, Columbus may not have to part with top prospects like Denton Mateychuk, Luca Del Bel Belluz, or Gavin Brindley. Instead, they could work out a deal centered around players like Cole Sillinger and Luca Pinelli, along with draft picks.
Ultimately, it all depends on Vancouver’s asking price. Waddell likely won’t want to move one of the team’s top three prospects to land Pettersson. He’d much rather offer a second-tier prospect and a roster player like Sillinger to make the deal work.
Only time will tell if this turns into something. However, if it does pick up steam, we will have the news for you!
What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.
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