There was a push to move Elias Pettersson out of Vancouver this summer, but the Canucks never got close while teams waited on Dylan Larkin.
Nick Kypreos said nothing came close. Too many clubs were holding out for Larkin instead.
Now look where Vancouver sits heading into Sunday's home game against Minnesota. The Canucks are 2-9-1, dead last in the NHL, and have lost nine straight.
Thursday's 5-2 home loss came against Detroit, of all teams. That's Larkin's club, the same situation that froze the market.
Pettersson carries an $11,600,000 cap hit, and that number shapes every conversation about him.
He has 12 points, and all four of his goals have come on the power play.
At even strength, it's been rough. He's a -5 over his last five games.
Ryan Johnson's first summer as GM ended without a Pettersson deal
Johnson took over the front office on May 14. Manny Malhotra followed behind the bench on June 1.
A new regime usually wants to reshape its core. Nothing coming close tells you how the league valued this player at that price.
Shopping him while everyone waited on Larkin was like trying to sell your car on a lot where every buyer is waiting for next year's model to roll in.
The bigger problem is the goals against. The Canucks are giving up 4.7 per game, and both Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser are minus-9.
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Jonathan Lekkerimaki has nine points at 22. He's one of the few reasons to keep watching right now.
And yes, there's another Elias Pettersson on this roster. The young defenseman has three goals of his own.
Vancouver should go back to the market the moment the Larkin situation settles. Waiting only makes that cap hit harder to move.
After Sunday, the Canucks head to Anaheim and San Jose. If this skid hits double digits, the next Pettersson push won't be a quiet one.
Should the Canucks trade Elias Pettersson as soon as the Dylan Larkin situation is settled?
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