Was trading for Marcus Pettersson the right move for the Canucks?
The Vancouver Canucks were busy bees this weekend.
The team made headlines by sending forward J.T. Miller, along with defenders Erik Brännström Jackson Dorrington, to the New York Rangers for center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a 2025 first-round pick.
Just a few hours later, the Canucks made another notable move, acquiring defender Marcus Petterson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, prospect Melvin Fernstrom and the first-round pick the Canucks acquired as part of the Miller trade.
It was a pair of moves that signaled the end of the Miller saga that was tumultuous, to say the least. However, some wonder if the Canucks jumped the gun in going after Pettersson so soon.
The Canucks are currently fighting for a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin thinking the time is now to try and retool the team for a playoff push.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli broke down the trade and whether or not the Canucks were right for going after Pettersson.
Frank Seravalli: Marcus Pettersson has been available for a long, long time. I know they know the player, but the fact you traded what could eventually turn into an unprotected 2026 first-round pick, which could be a massive asset — and yeah, it does help that you move off the last years of the Danton Heinen and Vinny Desharnais contracts — I think Marcus Pettersson is a No. 5 defenseman, and I think when you look at his struggles, if you really key in and watch his game…they need an efficient, puck-moving defenseman, and he’s not that. He’s a guy who likes to chip the puck off the glass. To make quick little stabs at it. He’s not a great puck mover.
I think to react so quickly to that, and make that deal, I think the Canucks are going to be way worse off in the long haul. It felt like a reactionary move to stabilize the team right now, and they gave up a really good asset to do it.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…