Most of the chatter surrounding the Vancouver Canucks nowadays surrounds various trade rumours.

While it won’t be easy for the Canucks to move out some of these players due to the trade protection they handed out, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s impossible to move them – it’s just much, much more difficult. And with the Canucks willing to listen on anybody, that has led to teams even calling on players with maximum trade protection.

Elias Pettersson and Tyler Myers‘ agent, JP Barry, joined Donnie & Dhali on Thursday and discussed his clients and their situation with the organization now that the direction of the team has changed from (trying to) contend to rebuilding.

“I take it with a grain of salt, because when a team isn’t doing well, everybody’s going to be discussed,” Barry said about the Pettersson trade rumours. “We’ve talked about the past. It’s always hard for us when it’s a player who has a no-move, but that’s the reality of where things are when things don’t go well. For us, we know it’s not real unless the GM is calling us and saying that there’s an actual team or a deal, and would you consider it? Nine out of 10 times, it’s just a rumour.

“It’s a pretty similar situation,” Barry shared about Myers. “If the team’s going to come to you and say, ‘Look, we have something, and we want to discuss it,’ we have to discuss it. But he has a no-move [clause]. He secured it for the kind of deal, and the intention was to play in Vancouver. He’s a veteran guy who wanted to finish his career in Vancouver. So that’s even a more delicate discussion. Like I said, it’s all hypothetical, and I have a hard time dancing around all these hypotheticals that, until we have the actual team and the GM of Vancouver wanting to discuss it, it’s just hypothetical.”

It’s been a struggle for Pettersson since signing his lucrative eight-year, $92.8 million contract on March 2, 2024. In the remaining 20 games of that season, Pettersson scored five goals and 14 points. Not terrible numbers, but he disappeared in the playoffs, scoring just one goal and six points in 13 games.

Those struggles continued last year. Reportedly, the team was not happy with the shape he arrived in training camp, which led to him scoring just 15 goals and 45 points in 64 games – the lowest point totals of his career to date. While he’s played better this season, with 13 goals and 29 points in 42 games, on an 82-game pace of 25 goals and 56 points.

Fans and hockey observers have grown frustrated, hoping the Swede can bounceback to the true No. 1 centre that earned him the largest contract in franchise history. While fans are fair to have those questions, how does Pettersson feel? Is he happy in Vancouver, especially now, dealing with all the losses the Canucks have suffered of late?

“Yeah, I think he’s happy,” Barry said. “I mean, no one’s happy when they’re losing. But he committed to be there and try to make the best of it, and he’s going to do that. I’m sure there’s gonna be all kinds of discussions at the end of this year about every player on that team. So we can’t avoid that.”

Barry mentioned earlier that the Canucks have yet to come to him or his client regarding any potential trade, but he shared that it’s something he and Pettersson will have to consider if they do.

“Where it gets problematic is when things get public in that area, people think that the player should automatically waive to whoever they want to waive to. The reality is that when you have the leverage to have a no-move, you’re giving up a lot. You’re basically purchasing that for sometimes a million dollars or more. Okay, so the player retains the right to go to a spot that he wants to go to, and it’ll open up that kind of dialogue, but that hasn’t happened yet. But yeah, I mean, obviously, it has to be a location that works for both sides.”

Along with Pettersson and Myers, Barry also represents a soon-returning Filip Chytil.

Chytil has been out of the Canucks lineup since Game 6 (October 19) against the Washington Capitals, when he caught a high hit from Tom Wilson in the neutral zone. Head injuries have followed Chytil throughout his nine-year NHL career. There are now over five documented concussions on Chytil’s resume, two in less than a year with the Canucks alone. It’s fair to question his future in the NHL, as these head injuries add up.

“We all have; we’ve had many discussions with Filip,” Barry responded. “He understands the situation. Our Czech agent also has been very involved with Filip, Ales Volek; we’ve worked with Alice for 20 years, and he’s very, very close to the Czech clients that we have, and they talk about everything. So, yes, he wants to play hockey, but you have to have those discussions when you have had that many injuries. But I think you know each one is different. You have to listen to the doctors about the type of injury that you’re dealing with.”

The NHL Trade Deadline is set for March 6, but with Barry sharing that the team has not been in contact with him regarding his clients, suggesting Pettersson and Myers may not move by then – we’ll see in the offseason. What we will find out sooner, however, is if Chytil will return from his 44-game absence tonight against the New Jersey Devils.