Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson Being Traded Prior to Olympic Break? [Report]

Could Elias Pettersson be moved before the Olympic break? League interest is rising, and suddenly his contract doesn’t look so scary.

by
Old Prof
January 19, 2026

In a recent interview with Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne, Frank Seravalli was asked if Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks would be traded. His answer? Possibly.

“I think there’s definitely a growing suspicion from teams that it does happen this year, and I mean, there are some thinking maybe even potentially before the Olympics. Now that feels kind of quick but the Canucks have been in the spot where they’re ready and willing to consider anything and everything…”

Many feel now that Pettersson could be traded this season. Seravalli suggested the market has changed, and that, with some of the signings that have taken place, $11.6 million a year “doesn’t sound like a crazy risk profile.”

Seravalli said the Carolina Hurricanes were one of a handful of teams right now that have been burning up the Canucks. Things have really ratcheted up in a significant way.

The Canucks Are in a Different Headspace After Moving Sherwood

The Canucks are in a different headspace after moving Kiefer Sherwood. The message seems to be that nothing is off the table. They’re not married to timelines, but they’re listening. And when a front office gets to that point, big names stop being sacred.

What makes Pettersson so attractive is still the same thing it’s always been. Regardless of how he’s playing right now, the upside is still massive. He’s not broken goods. He’s a 1C talent who’s stalled, not disappeared. Teams around the league look at him and don’t see decline; they see a reset waiting to happen. A new room, new voices, with less weight on the shoulders might just be the thing that unlocks his potential.

Hockey history is full of players who needed exactly that. And here’s where the salary part gets interesting.

Elias Pettersson Canucks trade talk — Elias Pettersson of the Canucks has become part of recent trade talk.

The Perception Is That Pettersson Might Be Well Worth the Money

On paper, $11.6 million a year should scare teams off. In reality, it’s barely slowing anyone down. Look around the league. Christian Dvorak at $5.15 million. Alex Wennberg at $6 million. Those deals reset expectations. Once you accept that solid middle-six players are living in that range, paying extra for elite upside starts to feel like a calculated risk. It might even feel like a no-brainer.

If a team believes it can get Pettersson back to being that guy, the contract stops being a problem and starts being the price of admission. Carolina keeps coming up for a reason. They’ve got cap flexibility, patience, and a system that’s known for reviving careers.

But they’re not alone. Seravalli suggests interest has “ratcheted up” across the league, and that’s usually the moment when internal conversations in Vancouver turn serious.

For the Canucks, Moving Pettersson Would Be a Philosophical Move

This wouldn’t be a panic move. It would be a philosophical one. The Canucks have been willing to consider everything. That includes the unthinkable. And when enough teams start circling, the question stops being should we trade him? Instead, it becomes what the right return looks like?

If this does happen before the Olympic break, it won’t be because Vancouver rushed. It’ll be because the league decided Pettersson was worth betting on again and the Canucks decided it was time to let someone else place that bet.