A New York State Of Mind For Elias Pettersson
Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News: The New York Islanders have inquired about Vancouver Canucks Center Elias Pettersson. Honestly, who has not done so at this point? Names that have floated around in return for such a player include Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, among others.
The fact that a cornerstone player like Barzal would go back is not as surprising as it sounds. If Brock Nelson was subbed in, additional players and/or picks would be needed. Bluntly, Vancouver would consider Barzal in a heartbeat. Would New York consider it? That answer is a rather likely no.
Enough pundits and experts believe Pettersson’s play could still go somewhere. So many teams have inquired and little has been done to quash the rumors. Vancouver has not passed the PR 101 portion of the course in controlling a situation.
NHL Rumors: Canucks Reject One Proposal
New York knows this would not be easy but one person very much on board is Bo Horvat.
“Oh god, yeah,” was Horvat’s reaction when THN asked him if he’d want to play with Pettersson again. “He’s a special player. He’s a really good person. He’s a special player that I respect a lot. I’ve had a lot of good success with him, too, in the past. But yeah, if I get a chance to play with him again, I would love to. We could use him.”
So, let us expand things a tiny bit.
The Coin Flip For A Center And More
Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News: The New York Islanders would like to move Brock Nelson for Elias Pettersson but would it cost them Noah Dobson and more? Now, there is that persistent rental issue. That would have to be rectified.
The problem is several other issues exist as well. Now, the Islanders are a bubble team. Vancouver thinks they have slightly higher aspirations even with a worse-than-expected record.
Something to be considered is the Nelson scoring slump which reached 16 games. He had 21 points in 24 contests to start out the 2024-25 campaign. Value is dwindling some and teams like the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild might be a better fit compared to Vancouver.
Is Lou Lamoriello capable of pulling a big trade off like this?
NHL Rumors: What Could Vancouver Be Thinking?
Few thought Lamoriello couldn’t get Horvat to Long Island then sign him to an extension. Yet, here we are. However, one gets the feeling the luster of a bigger deal is not quite there.
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