Hours after sending JT Miller to the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin wasn’t done, swinging a five-piece deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The trade sees the Canucks send the first-round draft pick they acquired in the Miller trade, along with forward Danton Heinen, defenceman Vincent Desharnais, and unsigned draft pick Melvin Fernström to the Penguins in exchange for defenceman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor, the club announced.
Pettersson, 28, has spent seven of his nine NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, acquired in Dec. 2018 from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Daniel Sprong. He only played 49 games over the course of two seasons for the Ducks, but Pettersson has made a home for himself in The Steel City, appearing in 442 games over the last seven seasons, scoring 16 goals and 141 points.
Never known for his offensive chops, Pettersson has made a name for himself as a strong, two-way defenceman, and was listed as the fifth top trade target on Daily Faceoff’s most recent Trade Targets list.  Frank Seravalli noted how he was the Penguins’ “most valuable trade chip.” He is in the final year of a five-year deal paying him $4.025-million.
O’Connor, meanwhile, has spent his full five-year career with the Penguins after signing as a undrafted free agent with them out of the NCAA ranks in 2020. He split time between the AHL and NHL over his first three seasons, posting 27 goals and 73 points in 73 AHL games and eight goals and 17 points in 78 NHL games.
But over the last two years he’s been a full-time NHL’er, scoring 22 goals and 49 points in 132 games. A pending unrestricted free agent, he carries a $925,000 cap hit.
The Canucks have quickly moved on from defenceman Vincent Desharnais, who despite signing a two-year, $2-million AAV deal this summer, struggled to find a home on their blue line from the beginning stages of the season. He had issues cracking the lineup on a regular basis, appearing in 34 games and scoring three assists.
Heinen, too, had signed with the Canucks this summer, inking a similar two-year, $2.25-million AAV deal. He drew in for 50 games this year, scoring six goals and 17 points.
Fernström was drafted by the Canucks in the third round of last years draft, and has spent his season in Sweden, splitting time between Örebro HK’s J20 team and SHL team. With the junior club, the forward posted 11 goals and 18 points in 12 games, and with the big club, he’s scored three goals and eight points in 35 games.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.