Elias Pettersson's name is the first one that comes up when the Vancouver Canucks start talking about shedding salary.
Patrick Johnston of The Province reported Wednesday that league sources told Postmedia ownership wants player payroll down by up to $20 million.
That's not a small trim. That number is a teardown.
Postmedia's reporting also notes payroll has already dropped by about $12 million since last season, which means the Canucks still have real work left to do.
Pettersson carries a cap hit of $11,600,000. That ranks eighth among every forward and defenseman in the entire NHL, right behind Erik Karlsson and just ahead of William Nylander.
Move him, and the Canucks get most of the way to that $20 million target in one transaction. That's the blunt math nobody in Vancouver wants to say out loud.
Patrick Johnston of the Province says that League sources have told Postmedia that Canucks' ownership have said they would like to reduce player payroll by up to $20 million.
It's worth noting player payroll has dropped by about $12 million since last season.
The production makes the case murkier, though. Pettersson finished with 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points over 74 games, but he also went minus-30 on the year.
Pettersson's minus-30 season complicates his trade value
His last 10 games tell an even rougher story. Six points, all assists, zero goals, and a minus-7 rating over that stretch.
Trading a $11.6 million piece who can't finish and can't hold his own defensively is a tough sell to another general manager. Would any team pay full freight for that right now?
It's a bit like trying to sell a car with the check engine light already on. The dealership knows, and so does the buyer.
The Canucks finished the season 25-49-8, dead last in the league at 32nd overall, with a minus-100 goal differential. New head coach Manny Malhotra was hired June 1, walking into a cap situation that isn't cleaning itself up.
Vancouver closed the year on a one-game losing streak, dropping the finale 1-6 on the road in Edmonton. That's not the résumé of a team that gets to be patient with big contracts.
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Moving Pettersson would answer the money problem. It wouldn't answer who scores the goals next season, and that's the part nobody in the front office has explained yet.
Should the Canucks trade Elias Pettersson to hit ownership's $20 million cut?
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