Could Detroit Revive Elias Pettersson?

It’s not every day a player who has hit one hundred points before even turning thirty hits the market. It’s also not every day one of those players turns themself into one of the most underwhelming players in the NHL. What happened to Elias Pettersson? I know Canucks fans are sitting there and wondering about it. But seriously, the guy was on track to run the league, and in just two seasons, he has become the man who is widely considered the most overpaid player in the league.

So naturally, no team really wants to keep that kind of player for very long, and the Canucks, amidst their fire sale, have started opening themselves up to Pettersson trade talks. Just like everyone on the trade block, it seems Detroit is kicking tires on the situation. So is it worth it? Is this seriously something that Steve Yzerman and his team should consider getting involved in? I’ll do my best to lay out how Detroit could fix Elias Pettersson.

What Makes Detroit Different:

Well, largely, I look at the supporting cast. This season, especially, Pettersson is the only dog in Vancouver’s fight, so his decent numbers aren’t exactly shocking. In Detroit, that wouldn’t be the case. The beauty of not paying anyone a grand sum of money is that you can pay a lot of players a healthy amount and give yourself some options.

There aren’t many teams in the league that can give Pettersson such a diverse class of forwards. He can play on either the first or second line if needed. He can play with Patrick Kane or Lucas Raymond if he wants to be alongside a playmaker. If he wants to let someone else do the scoring, Alex DeBrincat, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, and James Van Riemsdyk are all solid depth scoring options. If Pettersson wants to play in the soft areas, Elmer Soderblom, Marco Kasper, Emmitt Finnie, and Andrew Copp have no problem fetching him the puck.

Detroit can comfortably mix and match any combination of these players to give Pettersson both the deployments and teammates to help him find his game again. Now, I don’t think he’s going to return to 100-point form ever again. But, I do think that he could be a pretty solid 90-point center who can give Detroit some really solid minutes and some size in their top six.

Beyond the on-ice stuff, Detroit’s culture is far superior. I hate to gripe on this, but Detroit’s media presence is far less suffocating than Vancouver’s are. Look at the way Detroit treated Dylan Larkin’s slump; fans barely said anything other than “he needs to get going”. There weren’t any slaughtering articles about him, he wasn’t immediately thrust into trade rumours, none of that.

Finally, the locker room is a lot safer. Detroit has a bunch of players who love the team and want the best for them. Detroit doesn’t have a Quinn Hughes or J.T. Miller, who has no problem creating some drama to get his way. The Red Wings are committed to winning as Red Wings, and if Pettersson is in Detroit, the team will rally around him, knowing he’s their best chance.

Pettersson, at his best, would be the best player on the Red Wings, and Detroit is one of the few teams that could get that out of him.

Cost to Acquire:

There is a bunch of options. If Vancouver will retain salary, the cost goes up. If Detroit is to make a deal, I don’t think they would want Vancouver to retain. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Detroit could get Elias Pettersson for a first round pick and nothing else. However, if Vancouver will retain salary down to $8.5M, I think the cost gets higher.

In that range, I think that a first round pick and a good prospect would be what the Canucks want. I’d imagine with Carolina and L.A. being in on Pettersson, there would be a bit of a bidding war. I think Detroit could top all offers by giving up Nate Danielson in the deal, however I don’t know how keen Yzerman would be on doing that.

What Do I Think:

I think I’ve made my stance clear at this point, I’m pro-anyone. Unless it’s a nothing player like Mangiapane, I want a big name on this team. Look at Montreal. Dobson had a down year, Laine was on a downward trend and Montreal still made the gamble and it largely paid off.

I think Elias Pettersson would take some serious planning. I think if Detroit is confident that they can get him back to form, they should do it. He fits both the Larkin timeline and the Seider timeline and he could easily be the best player on the ice every night.

It could miss, it really could. But I think we’ve seen the conservative approach for a long time and this team is left without a true superstar because of it. If Detroit is to get the franchise corner stone that can lead them during the cup window, they need to get create and I think Elias Pettersson would be one of the view gambles that could pay off.

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