On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal welcomed NHL insider Frank Seravalli to discuss the latest trade rumours surrounding the Vancouver Canucks as they head into Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline.
Brock Boeser’s Future in Vancouver
Seravalli started by breaking down the likelihood of Brock Boeser staying in Vancouver past the deadline.
“I would say 40% chance they extend him, 25% chance they keep him as a rental—so 65% chance Brock Boeser is a Vancouver Canuck past Friday at noon, and a 35% chance of him being traded,” said Frank.
He emphasized that the decision on Boeser ties directly into Vancouver’s overall direction.
“It’s a philosophical conversation: do we need to vastly re-tool this team, and is Pettersson moving, whether it’s now or before the draft? Miller’s gone. If Pettersson is gone and if you remove Boeser, you have zero chance. Pack it in for the next three-plus years. I don’t care what kind of magic Quinn Hughes can create—you don’t have a chance to compete. No team is going to give back assets that could be used in a competitive fashion for the now. The only teams trading for Boeser are teams in contender mode.”
The Canucks are at a crossroad, and management will have to make the tough choice of whether it makes sense to lock Boeser into a long-term deal with the future uncertain.
“At one point, Brock was supposed to be the key secondary scoring piece for a team that was going to contend for a Stanley Cup, and now we’re not only potentially missing the playoffs this year, but if things go haywire with Pettersson and we have to step back for a couple years, does it make sense to have Boeser extended on a six-year deal if it’s going to take us three years to compete again?”
The Risk of Losing Leverage in a Pettersson Trade
The conversation then shifted to Elias Pettersson and the Canucks’ looming decision on his future.
“This decision is critically important. The last thing you can allow is for Pettersson to have any leverage in the process. You can’t be held hostage by a guy you don’t want there and who isn’t productive on a massive contract,” Seravalli said.
“A recent real-world example: Seth Jones gave the Blackhawks two teams to which he would accept a trade—Dallas and Florida. The Stars have so many young players to pay, starting with Wyatt Johnston, that they wouldn’t get involved at all. So suddenly, the Panthers were the only team left Jones was willing to accept a deal to. If Florida found that out, they could have leveraged the hell out of the Blackhawks, but instead, Chicago got a deal that worked out for them.”
The Canucks cannot afford to let Pettersson dictate terms on a potential trade.
“The last thing you want is Pettersson telling your team he’s only going to accept a trade to X team. He can do and say whatever he wants,” Seravalli continued. “You can’t let it get to that point. And when you talk about him maybe rebounding and being your best chance at a number one centre, I understand that thought process. But I’m going to side with 16 months of evidence that not only is Pettersson broken, but he’s especially broken in Vancouver. If we were going to see him put the pieces back together, we would’ve started to see it at the 4 Nations or after the Miller trade.
“He was around his countrymen, speaking his own language, getting a shot of confidence, playing with talented players he knows and likes—but all it did for me was remove every excuse possible for him. You’re making this much money; you have to produce and be a driver.”
Has Pettersson’s Trade Value Already Plummeted?
Seravalli believes Pettersson’s value has already declined significantly, making a potential trade even more complicated.
“There’s not one team in the league that could acquire Elias Pettersson right now and feel good about it,” said Seravalli. “At least right now, there’s some mystique—teams thinking, ‘We believe we could be the one to unlock that 100-point player we once saw.’ But the longer this goes on, the more we see, the less likely someone is going to buy on that. And not only that, I think we’re already at the point where his value has plummeted so much that I don’t know that there is a return for him.”
With a long-term contract in place, the financial commitment alone makes a trade difficult.
“You’re asking for someone to take on 80+ million dollars. I don’t know how you could extract a return on top of that with the risk someone will be taking. He’s basically at the point in time where he’s looking at a million dollars per goal. You can find a team—with the cap increasing the way it is—that might be willing to take the risk. But the risk is heavy enough alone, and the acquisition cost on top of it is too much.”
“If you’re the Canucks, you have to focus on what’s the bigger risk—losing him for less than ideal value and watching his play bounce back, or being stuck with this contract for the next seven years and significantly impacting our ability to build a team?”
With the trade deadline just days away, the Canucks have some major decisions to make regarding both Boeser and Pettersson. Whether they choose to retool around Hughes or commit to a longer rebuild could shape the team’s trajectory for years to come.
You can watch the full segment below:
Get ready, hockey fans! The Daily Faceoff Deadline is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we’ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!
