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Canucks GM Ryan Johnson's first big test: What to do with Elias Pettersson? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Vancouver Canucks started a major rebuild this season with the trade of superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. However, there’s still a huge question new Canucks GM Ryan Johnson needs to answer almost immediately after taking the job this week.
That’s the future of Vancouver’s star players – most notably, the future of star center Elias Pettersson.
That’s the $11.6 million question in Canucks Land – how do you deal with Pettersson and the remaining six seasons on his current contract? Many will suggest that if Johnson decides to keep Pettersson, there must be a clear plan to get him back to being a 100-point player, as he was in 2022-23. But for this writer, that no longer seems realistic, especially now that Hughes is no longer a Canuck.
And really, will Pettersson be happy if Johnson does what many believe he needs to do and trades a slew of Canucks veterans, including Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko? We don’t think so. There’s going to be significant pain ahead for Vancouver – at least, in the short-term, as Johnson resets expectations for this franchise – and you have to think most, if not all Canucks veterans aren’t going to want to be part of the full roster rebuild this Vancouver team absolutely needs.
MORE: Canucks' Elias Pettersson trade plans could be ignoring key underlying stats
With the haul the Canucks earned for Hughes, it makes a lot of sense for this Vancouver team to tear it down to the studs, and Johnson must build more or less from scratch. But the good news is that Vancouver is going to have the third-overall pick in this summer’s NHL entry draft, so the Canucks are going to have an elite young player to add to their evolving core.
But they can’t be satisfied with just that. They need at least a couple of years of drafting at the top of the draft to acquire the type of generational talent you can only acquire through the top of the draft.
That’s necessarily going to mean Vancouver will be suffering for a fairly long time to come. Just as Hughes didn’t want to be part of a lengthy rebuild, it's likely the Canucks’ remaining veterans will also want to be moved to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
The hardest piece to move for Johnson will be Pettersson, and that’s true not just because Pettersson has full control over his destiny thanks to his full no-move clause. The Canucks might need to retain some of Pettersson’s salary to make a trade palatable for the team acquiring Pettersson, but the 27-year-old is, in theory, in his prime, and Vancouver should be able to find a new home for him.
That said, if Canucks fans are hopeful to get a massive haul in a Pettersson trade, they should think again. The asset Johnson & Co. are going to receive is the bulk of Pettersson’s cap space, and anything else they can get for Pettersson is so much gravy.
MORE: 'I Know I Have A Lot Of Good Hockey In Me, & I Haven't Showed It': Canucks Elias Pettersson Reflects On Another Frustrating Season
But a Pettersson trade will open up opportunities for a new generation of Vancouver young players, and that’s what the selling point here is for Johnson. He can go about his business restocking the Canucks’ shelves of up-and-coming prospects and create far more cap flexibility than he currently has with Pettersson on the roster.
Pettersson may never again get anywhere close to the 100-point plateau, let alone set new career-highs in points for himself, but he may not have to. Pettersson, despite offensive struggles, has still scored at a 20-goal, 50-point pace, while bringing a really solid defensive game. That may not constitute an $11.6 million AAV contract, but that is still a player who can contribute to a contending team on the second line.
But the challenge for Johnson remains cleaning house and setting the table for a new era in Vancouver. That almost assuredly means it makes sense for the Canucks to part ways with Pettersson, who, despite still showing he is a capable NHL player, hasn’t consistently been a needle-mover you need for a No. 1 center. It’s time for Vancouver to cut their losses, trade Pettersson, and invest in a new core of talent that will carry the Canucks further than they ever were able to get with Pettersson as one of their key veterans.
Johnson comes into the GM job with a honeymoon phase, and he must take advantage of that to drastically remake Vancouver’s roster. Because if he can’t find a new home for Pettersson this summer, Johnson will fail one of his first tests running things with the Canucks. It’s time to move in a different direction, and Vancouver’s road ahead shouldn’t include Pettersson.
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