Canucks and Wild Have Pieces For Blockbuster

The Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild have the pieces for a potential blockbuster trade.

Dec 23, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) skates against the San Jose Sharks during the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images / Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Vancouver Canucks are seemingly on the edge of trading one of their star forwards, but the question remains: which one is on the way out? JT Miller and Elias Pettersson continue to rift in the locker room and their playoff spot is becoming less secure.

The Canucks are reaching a crossroads regarding their stars and it's trending towards a blockbuster trade. Enter the Minnesota Wild. This year's Wild team is a contender despite lacking a bonafide, undisputed top center. Combine that with the tensions in Vancouver, and the two teams may have the makings of a huge deal that sends Pettersson to Minnesota.

On the Minnesota side, the fit makes perfect sense. Pettersson would come in and play on the top line with star wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Matthew Boldy, giving them perhaps the most talented center to ever wear a Wild sweater.

The biggest question they must answer is how much are they willing to part with? According to a report from The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, the sense is the Wild are open to trading young center Marco Rossi to acquire either of the Canucks' sparring stars.

"The Wild like both players," he wrote. "And while the belief around the NHL is they are still willing to move young centre Marco Rossi, who’s having a great season and was just named the NHL’s first star of the past week, in a major move for one of them that would include additional pieces, how can they make this work, this season, cap wise?"

As Pagnotta indicates, the Wild would need to do some serious work to become salary cap compliant. Acquiring Pettersson would add $11.6 million to their salary cap situation. They are already teetering on the edge of the cap and would have to ship out several contracts the other way to make the numbers work.

If they can make the money and contract situation work, these two teams have the potential to pull off a blockbuster. Pettersson could get his fresh start and get the chance to be the top center of an organization with Minnesota, while the Canucks clear out their locker room drama and bring in another strong piece for their playoff run.

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