On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal dove into the trade proposal initially brought up by Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman floated the idea of a trade involving Buffalo’s Bowen Byram and Dylan Cozens for Pettersson, following Canucks President Jim Rutherford’s comments about adding players to contend this season after a 5-1 loss to the Bruins. As Friedman clarified, this scenario is purely hypothetical, with no actual discussions reported, but the Sabres and Canucks have reportedly been in trade discussions throughout the season.
Quads and Harm didn’t mince words, quickly explaining why they feel a Pettersson trade is a bad idea for the Canucks.
“The lesson you’ve learned from Buffalo with Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and to a lesser extent with the Flames and the Matthew Tkachuk trade; when you’re the team giving up the best player in a deal, it’s hard to win those trades,” said Quads. “When I look at it as a whole, I’d try not to trade Pettersson if you can get around it. Trading Pettersson is a bad idea to me, and this swap doesn’t make sense—the Sabres wouldn’t be paying nearly enough for what Pettersson is as a player.”
Harm agreed, emphasizing the risks involved with the proposed return. “Cozens had less than 50 points last season and is on pace for less than that again this season. He’s 23 years old and hasn’t proven himself as an upper-echelon top-six centreman yet. We know Bowen Byram is a good top-four defenceman, but there’s risk there with his history of head injuries.
“Has Elias Pettersson been an 11 and a half million dollar player this season? Absolutely not, we know that. But he’s 26 years old, and I still believe there’s a good chance he could bounce back and play at the level of a top-ten centreman in the NHL.”
Harm also pointed out how trading Pettersson would impact the Canucks’ competitive timeline. “If you trade him, I think there’s almost zero chance you’re going to get a player back who can provide potential star-level value offensively, especially in this window trying to win with Quinn Hughes under eight million dollars.
“The Jack Eichel trade is a perfect example; they got Alex Tuch back, Krebs, a few picks—that trade didn’t turn out horribly for Buffalo, but Alex Tuch is still nowhere near Eichel’s quality. Another thing to keep in mind: J.T. Miller will be 32 years old in March. Can you win a cup with him at, say, 33 or 34 if he’s your best forward? I wouldn’t want to be in a position where you’re putting all that burden on his shoulders.”
While the guys both opposed trading Pettersson, Quads suggested it might be time to step back and evaluate what’s best for the team here-and-now. “Should this team be at a point now where they think long and hard about trading a solid NHL piece to get some real change? If we’re talking about adding a defenceman with term to this team, good luck with the Nils Höglander-centred trade package with the Vincent Desharnais throw-in.
“I’m not an advocate of trying to trade Pettersson or J.T. Miller, but if teams are calling, the only person I hang up immediately on is Quinn Hughes. I caution against it, but in the interest of making the team better and identifying your cup window and ‘going for it,’ Hughes is the only hard no.”
Harm highlighted the importance of internal improvement over drastic roster changes. “The best hope for any team that’s struggling is that your players internally bounce back. Conor Garland was in trade rumours at the start of last season, figured it out, and found his game. Same thing with Brock Boeser—his agent was seeking a trade, but he figured it out.
“At a certain level, you have to hope the players are able to solve these things because making in-season trades is really difficult. Your best bet is hoping guys like Nils Höglander and Dakota Joshua can bounce back. Filip Hronek coming back in six weeks or so will be massive. Soucy and Myers have started to trend in the right direction, but they’re still not at the same level from last year.”
You can watch the full segment below:
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