Elias Pettersson
Pettersson was drafted 5th overall by Vancouver in the 2017 NHL draft. He is a 27 year old center/left wing, has scored 200 goals and 308 assists for a career total of 508 points in 545 games played. He has a career Corsi of 57.3 and has averaged .93 points per game in his eight seasons in the NHL. Pettersson won the Calder trophy in 2019, averaging 1.02 points per year from 2019 through 2024, and put up a career high 102 points in 80 games in 2022-23. He was rewarded with a monster 8 year contract with an average $11.6 million per year through 2032, according to puckpedia.com .
Why He Might Be Available
Unfortunately, Pettersson scored only 45 points in 64 games in 2024-25, the first year of his new deal and followed that up with just 51 points in 74 games this past season. Not ideal after signing such a big contract. He was an incredible skater until a knee injury in 2023-24 and hasn’t looked the same speed-wise ever since. There have also been concerns about his commitment and desire. There was a rift between Pettersson and JT Miller reported by the Hockey News** that eventually led to the Canucks trading Miller to the Rangers in January 2025. Miller pushed Pettersson and didn’t let up, leading former teammate Brad Richardson to tell Miller:
"“You have to ease up a little bit because he's (Pettersson) not the guy you can push that far." "Brad Richardson 4-22-25 The Hockey News
Why He Could End Up In Washington
The Canucks are in a rebuild and may look to unload his salary, but they won’t get much unless they retain pat of his salary. They may not want to trade him, but they may have to in order to reboot their roster. Some team may be willing to take on his full salary which would lower the cost, but that’s a big if. If the Canucks agree to hold back some salary (say $2-3 million per years) then it would improve their return. They would be happy to clear the cap space and acquire some draft capital and a young player to take a step toward the future. This is why I think Pettersson is the mnost likely trade target for the Caps.
Pettersson's situtation reminds me a little bit of Pierre-Luc Dubois’ situation two years ago. Dubois fell out of favor in LA during the first year of a bnulti-year contract before he was traded to DC, where he had a resurgence. Spencer Carbery is known for being a players-coach and perhaps he can work his magic and help Pettersson have a resurgence. While lightning doesn't often strike twice, the Capitals front office has shown they are savvy and willing to take a risk or a potential big reward. Pettersson won't have the same pressure in DC as he has in Vancouver and may welcomne that. The Capitals have space under the salary cap and the assets to acquire him, and would not have to give up nearly as much for Pettersson as they would have to for the other players on this list.
Add us as a preferred source on Google