When Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sat down with Elias Pettersson during the European media tour, the Vancouver Canucks superstar set in motion a wave of rumours that had some fans tugging at their collars.
“I’m not in a rush to sign,” Pettersson told Friedman at the time. “I got one more year left over there.”
After putting up a 102-point season last year and his team still missing the playoffs by a wide margin, Pettersson stressed the importance of a good start to the season. Though he didn’t say this in so many words, the implication was that the now-25-year-old centre wanted to give it the wait-and-see approach.
Wait and see how new head coach Rick Tocchet handles his first training camp with the team.
Wait and see how that translates on the ice.
Well, the waiting is over and we can clearly see the results: the Canucks are on a heater, off to the best start in franchise history at 12-4-1 and on track to comfortably make a post-season appearance for the first time since 2020.
How does that bode for the Canucks locking down their prized centre?
With the help of Friedman and the 32 Thoughts Podcast, here is that and more as we take a closer look at the NHL’s rumour mill.
Will Pettersson opt for a short-term deal?
When Jeff Marek categorized the discourse following Friedman’s infamous boat ride with Pettersson as “goofy,” he was pretty on the mark.
But now, after the Canucks came out of the gates swinging and the general consensus is that talks with Pettersson are underway and progressing, the focus now turns away from if he will sign to how much will he sign for — and how long.
Friedman compared this situation to that of Owen Power — the former first-overall pick and smooth-skating defenceman in Buffalo, who opted to sign a seven-year deal over an eight in order to be eligible for a new contract at 29 years old, rather than 30.
“In an analytics-driven world, which hockey is becoming more of, that’s a big deal. 29 versus 30 is a big deal.” Friedman noted on Friday’s 32 Thoughts Podcast.
This comparison is significant because both Power and Pettersson are managed by CAA, so if that was the strategy in Buffalo, it may just be the strategy in Vancouver as well.
“Pettersson, if he signs a three-year deal, will next be eligible for an extension the summer before he turns 29,” Friedman said. “I’m not saying it’s going to be a three-year deal, but I think it’s possible, possible, that Pettersson goes for that area of term instead of eight.”
Friedman argued that may happen because 1. his agency did so with Owen Power and 2. Auston Matthews.
Matthews signed in Toronto a four-year, $53 million contract that had fans scratching their heads at the term, but would put him at free agency at a point where he is still in his prime, too.
“Pettersson to me, and I say this in a good way, would see Matthews do a four-year deal and ask, ‘Why is he doing that and what’s the benefit,’ and consider it,” Friedman said.
“One question is going to be the cap and the other question is going to be the term.”
Both Matthews and Pettersson have proven, despite each having “down” years, that they are superstars in this league — no questions about it. The hope is then, with a shorter-term deal, that teams will have considerably more cap space to sign these players once they have (and they will) firmly cement themselves as some of the all-time greats.
Three Flames defencemen are halfway out the door — what’s their status?
Nikita Zadorov shook the hockey world when he requested a trade almost immediately after the Calgary Flames‘ 5-4 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 10 — another blow to a team on the precipice of losing two pending UFAs in Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.
Not only was it a shock to the hockey world, but it was also a shock to Zadorov’s own teammates as well.
“The Zadorov thing, that really hit them hard last week,” Friedman revealed. “I heard there were some pretty upset players.
“For the captain not to know about it, as (Mikael) Backlund said, it definitely would be a big surprise. I think there was some verbal confrontation between players after that. I don’t think everybody was very happy.”
Regardless of how the request came about, the implication remains the same: the Flames now have three defencemen who are more-or-less halfway out the door, and the question now turns to what to do with them and when.
Friedman believes Calgary is now “actively listening” to offers on these players.
“The Flames are kind of going through this, they’re deciding what they like,” Friedman said. “They are determined to do this on their own schedule. But Jeff, I would say it’s advanced in the sense that they asked teams, ‘If we wanted to move these players, what’s in the conversation?’”
Essentially, Friedman said, it now boils down to which player goes first.
He added while there has been mutual interest between Vancouver and Zadorov and Tanev, Calgary is likely not prepared to trade with their division rival Canucks.
“My opinion on this is, if they give you the best deal — and you should try to squeeze as much juice out of them as you can, that’s your job — then you should look towards that deal,” Friedman said. “But I think Vancouver knows that if they don’t make the trade now, they can always circle back to these players in the summer.”
Though a homecoming to the team that signed and developed Tanev would be a welcome idea in Vancouver, it’s not unreasonable for Calgary to be averse to any deal that may make the Canucks’ blue-line any better — especially since, despite their below-average start, the Flames aren’t quite writing off their season just yet.
Friedman also noted that despite connections between the two franchises through Brad Treliving, the Flames also aren’t keen on doing a deal with the Maple Leafs and if they did, it would likely come at the cost of one of Toronto’s talented young forwards.
This far removed from the deadline, the price for these defencemen still remains pretty high, especially if the Flames get a sense their players may be willing to sign someplace else.
Bottom line is, the Flames have options; the Zadorov-Tanev-Hanifin sweepstakes involve more teams than meets the eye.
Are Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders ready to make some moves?
One of those teams in on the sweepstakes may just be the New York Islanders.
Three years removed from a playoff run that took them to seven games of the Eastern Conference Final against the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning, the Islanders are in trouble.
In a talented Metropolitan Division, they sit right near the bottom with a 5-6-5 record in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.
“Every day, the tension just piles up on Long Island,” Friedman said. “First of all, I don’t think Lou Lamoriello is just sitting on his hands.”
At the general managers’ meetings in Toronto earlier this week, Friedman believes Lamoriello was asking around and wondering what’s out there for his team.
While the Islanders are still on the hunt for a scorer, Friedman also thinks the Islanders could be in on some of the Calgary defencemen, but much like the speculated price for Vancouver and Toronto, the cost might be a talented young forward.
“One of the guys I wonder about, in they’re going to be a factor in all this, is going to be (Oliver) Wahlstrom, simply because I can see the player saying, ‘If I’m not going to get the opportunity here, I have to get it somewhere else,’ and I can see a team like Calgary, who picked up a player like (Yegor) Sharangovich, possibly being interested in someone like that,” Friedman said.
Wahlstrom is a player who may benefit from a change of scenery. The former first-round pick is deployed in a bottom-six role and has not seen an average ice time of more than 12-and-a-half minutes over his five seasons in the NHL.
In exchange for a player like Zadorov or Tanev, whose shutdown styles would fit in the Islanders’ defensive-forward system, this could be a deal worth watching for on the horizon.
But is a trade the extent of the moves being considered by Lamoriello?
Though Lane Lambert was promoted to head coach during the 2022 off-season when Barry Trotz was let go following a playoff miss, his team hasn’t quite performed to their own standards since.
After the Edmonton Oilers released Jay Woodcroft last week, Friedman believes that “everybody’s sensitivities are heightened” regarding coaching.
“To me, it comes down to, what does Lamoriello think makes more sense: making a move that helps them, or changing the coach to help them?”
The Patrick Kane saga continues
Despite the news breaking that Patrick Kane did not, in fact, meet with the Maple Leafs, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has no shortage of teams on his radar.
“I think there’s eight meetings or Zoom meetings set up this week,” Friedman said. “This is not so much about contract as it is feel. Talking to the teams, coaches, GMs. … Where do you see Kane playing? How do you see him fitting in the roster?”
Related to his decision on where to sign is how long to sign for. Friedman believes Kane is weighing the pros and cons of a one-year deal, where he can play for the year and reassess when the season is over, and a multi-year deal, where he and his family can settle.
Does he want a win-now team or a win-soon team? Friedman thinks that’s going to make all the difference when decision time comes.
“Teams like Detroit, Buffalo, Florida, I’ve wondered about Carolina. We’ve talked in this podcast, Jeff, about Carolina needing scoring. You know, Kane can score,” Friedman said. “I think that he’s got about eight teams he’s talked to or (is) talking to.”
Marek suggested the Dallas Stars and Islanders. While Friedman didn’t believe Dallas was interested, he contended that New York would be interested in the scoring prowess that Kane would provide.
“It’ll be interesting to me if he picks best opportunity to win this year, or best opportunity over the next couple of years,” Friedman said. “If he’s doing a couple of years, that increases Buffalo’s chances. Detroit, I think, is a really intriguing one too.”
Despite being in his mid-30s, Kane has been a point-per-game player for much of his career. One of the greatest Americans to lace up the skates, whichever team Kane ends up on will be made better.
