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Flyers: 3 trade proposals for Canucks’ Elias Pettersson

By Jonathan Bailey

VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 18: Elias Pettersson #40 of the Vancouver Canucks waits for a face-off during the third period of their NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena on February 18, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 18: Elias Pettersson #40 of the Vancouver Canucks waits for a face-off during the third period of their NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena on February 18, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images) /
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Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier in action for Boston College. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier in action for Boston College. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) /

#2. Canucks raid the Flyers’ farm

In contrast to keeping all of their prospects and trading the foundation of their roster, the Flyers could do the exact opposite. Indeed, trading Michkov is as big a risk for the Flyers as it is to the Canucks for taking him on in the first place. Gauthier, however, is poised to turn pro at some point in the next year.

The Flyers currently do not have the cap space to facilitate such a deal, since defenseman Ryan Ellis hasn’t been placed on LTIR yet. The reason for that is Philadelphia can accrue $3.9 million in cap space through the trade deadline without Ellis, so they’ll only place him on LTIR when they need the space immediately instead of the slow burn of creating extra cash.

The Canucks don’t have the greatest prospect pool in the world outside of Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander, and they should be careful not to waste the primes of players like Thatcher Demko and Quinn Hughes. By doing this, they now have two of the best prospects in the league to build around in addition to the draft capital they still have. By the time Michkov and Gauthier make it over, the new captain Hughes should still have more than plenty of gas left in the tank.

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