Canucks News & Rumours: Two Very Different Questions Facing Vancouver

With the Vancouver Canucks, there are still a couple of pretty interesting questions left. Elias Pettersson‘s future remains one of them, even if it looks increasingly likely that he’ll start the season in Vancouver. Then there is Brendan Gallagher, who is almost the opposite kind of question.

The Canucks aren’t asking whether Gallagher can become a star. They are asking whether an older, experienced, competitive player can help change the personality of a team that has been searching for some of those qualities. Put the two stories together, and you get a pretty good snapshot of where the Canucks are right now.

What If Elias Pettersson Has a Monster Season?

The Pettersson situation could get very interesting very quickly if he comes out of the gate and looks like the player Vancouver thought it was signing to that massive contract. TSN analyst Frank Corrado believes Pettersson is likely to be with the Canucks when the season begins because his $11.6 million cap hit, recent performance and full no-movement clause make a trade extremely complicated.

But imagine Pettersson gets off to a terrific start and suddenly looks like the player who recorded 102 points in 2022-23. Now Vancouver has a very different problem.

Do you trade him when his value is finally high again, or do you keep him because you’ve finally got the player you wanted? That’s not an easy choice. A strong season would almost certainly make other teams more interested in Pettersson. A team isn’t going to be nearly as nervous about taking on that contract if he’s producing like a legitimate No. 1 centre again. If several teams become interested, the Canucks could potentially get a much better return than they would right now.

But there is another side to it. If Pettersson is driving offence, playing with confidence and looking like himself again, why would Vancouver suddenly decide it doesn’t want him? That’s what makes this situation so fascinating. A monster season wouldn’t necessarily make a Pettersson trade more likely. It could make the decision considerably harder.

If he struggles again, Vancouver may eventually decide that it has to move on, even if the return isn’t what the organization once imagined. But if he rebounds in a big way, the Canucks have something they haven’t had in a while: leverage. They could build around a rejuvenated Pettersson, or they could listen to offers and see what another team is willing to pay for a 27-year-old centre who has rediscovered his game.

Brendan Gallagher Could Be a Canucks Fan Favourite

Then there is Brendan Gallagher, and I’m curious to see how Canucks fans react to him. Gallagher has been one of those players who has spent years getting under the skin of opposing fans. He’s competitive, he goes to the hard areas, he plays with an edge, and he doesn’t seem particularly concerned about making life pleasant for the guy wearing the other jersey. Now Vancouver gets to have him on its side. Sometimes you don’t fully appreciate a player like that until he’s working for you instead of against you.

Nobody should expect Gallagher to suddenly rediscover the offensive game that made him a star for the Montreal Canadiens. He is 34, coming off a season in which he played 77 games but averaged just 12:21 a night and recorded 23 points. His role in Vancouver should be much more about energy, competitiveness and leadership than scoring goals.

The Canadiens also retained 50 percent of his $6.5 million cap hit when they moved him to Vancouver for future considerations, so this isn’t the kind of move that puts the Canucks in a financial bind. With Gallagher entering the final year of his contract, there is even the possibility that he becomes a trade-deadline rental if things go well.

But I think the bigger reason Vancouver brought him in is what he can do inside the room and around the roster. The Canucks have younger players who need to learn what it takes to become full-time NHLers, and Gallagher has spent 14 years learning how to compete at this level. He isn’t coming to Vancouver to be a star.

He’s coming to make practices harder, compete every night and show younger players what professional preparation looks like. If he gets under the skin of an opponent, I suspect Canucks fans will enjoy that a lot more when he’s wearing their jersey.

Two Different Pieces of the Same Puzzle

Pettersson and Gallagher couldn’t be more different. One is a highly paid star trying to rediscover his best game. The other is a veteran who is being asked to bring leadership and compete in a bottom-six role.

A rejuvenated Pettersson could change the ceiling of the roster. A productive Gallagher could change its personality. Neither is guaranteed, of course. But both are worth watching as Vancouver moves toward the start of the season. If Pettersson does have that monster season, well, somebody in Vancouver is going to have a very interesting decision to make.