Trading Elias Pettersson before stock falls

Two words: Herschel Walker.

Most of you weren't born when Herschel Walker was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings for 5 players.

Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson

Was the result of that trade.

Now there was some preamble to the trade involving Donald Trump and the USFL and 2 years in Dallas where Walker rushed for 2,000 yards and then the trade in 1987.

But those 4 impact players and the drafting of Troy Aikman set the Cowboys up for a dynasty.

The NHL is not in the same league as the NFL talent wise.
However, that being said, pro-scouts are drooling over the petite Elias Pettersson.
TSN's talking head Craig Button has him ranked as the No. 1 prospect outside of the NHL.

And Pettersson is still young. And he hasn't entered the NHL and failed ... yet.

And that's the key for the Canucks - trading this guy before he has a chance to enter the NHL and fall flat on his face.

Right now the Canucks could get a king's ransom for this 160 pound kid.

And you eliminate a massive problem: This kid is going to get rag-dolled, speed bagged, dirty gloved all night long, every game. It's bad for a team. Then someone's got to stand up for this 160 pound kid. And they're going to get tired of having to do it. It's an invitation to other teams -- PUNCH ME IN THE HEAD -- IM A CANUCK!

How many times do I have to say this: You can't have guys on your team who can't fight. Period. You simply won't win a Cup. Everyone pulls on the same rope - or you get a dysfunctional hockey team. Every player you put on the team MUST BE CAPABLE OF DEFENDING THEMSELVES. Pettersson is a team building nightmare, the same way the Sedins were or Naslund or Gradin. You've got to have a temper to play hockey. A big one. A short fuse.

The Canucks have to play fast before the next crop of draft eligible kids hit the market and Pettersson becomes old news. And they have to do it definitely before he hits training camp and we find out he's physically not able to handle the NHL yet.

The Canucks have massive holes in their roster.
They're not going to be able to fill those holes in a timely manner before Boeser turns 26 and UFA.
There's NO CHANCE they can plug the holes by then.

But with a good trade they could take Petterson and parlay him into what they need - 3 or 4 good prospects or picks that they can use to plug those holes.

All they need is a sucker like the Minnesota Vikings to buy into Elias Pettersson. A desperate team with financial problems looking for an instant hit.

How about the New York Rangers?

They're going to have a really high 1st Round Pick. They have Lias Andersson, a center, highly ranked. And they have 2 or 3 really good, still fairly young, D men like McDonough who is available in trade. In fact, you could grab a Rick Nash on top of that.

See where I'm heading here? The Rangers have Anthony DeAngelo, a puck moving D man with No. 1 written all over him. They also have Alexi Bereglazov, another D huge prospect, and ready for the NHL. They also have Neal Pionk, a small but fast D man, and Sean Day, ANOTHER D man.

Do you pick up what I'm putting down here?

The potential to trade Pettersson for 1 center and 3 D men, even 4 D men if you start dropping a 2nd round pick going their way.

A center. And 4 D men.

What do the Canucks need?

A center. And 4 D men.

Could Elias Pettersson light up Broadway?
Sure.

But Vancouver has Virtanen and Boeser - they don't need a 160 pound winger.

Pettersson in NY could be magic for them.
And that's good.

It has to be a trade that's good for both teams.

This could be STUNNINGLY good for both teams.

Let's be clear - the Canucks need prospects, and D prospects in the worst way.
Badly.

They have enough up front that if the D could be an offensive help, they could get back to respectability in a hurry. And if just ONE of those D men turns into a legitimate No. 1 D... wow.

AND they're going to get another top 5 pick this year.

But if they keep Elias Pettersson... it's going to go nowhere. You need a critical mass of youth to push you over the top.

They got nothing from the 2016 draft.
The 2017 draft could be a complete bust too.

And think about the market - Vancouver.

Does it have the stomach to handle yet another Swede team after the failures of 1982 with Thomas Gradin; the failures of the Markus Naslund, and the failures of the 2011 Sedins?

No. There's no stomach for yet another Swede in this market leading the team nowhere.

Time to trade Pettersson and get help.

Reload. Blow up that D line. Rebuild it. Move on.




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