Another Canadian Team Enters The Elias Pettersson Sweepstakes

The Vancouver Canucks thought they had a trade done for Elias Pettersson this past weekend, but as we all know by now, the Carolina Hurricanes pivoted and landed superstar Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche instead.

So the Pettersson/JT Miller drama continues in B.C., and the team is still engaged in plenty of discussions. And while the New York Rangers are often held up as the most likely trade partner (namely, for Miller), insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that the Ottawa Senators are getting involved in the Pettersson sweepstakes.

The reports suggests that the Sens are believed to be willing to move center Josh Norris as part of a package to land Pettersson.

The 25-year-old Norris has five years remaining on his long-term deal at a $7.95 million AAV. Pettersson, 26, is only in the first season of his eight-year deal with an $11.6 million cap hit.

Norris had a breakout season in his second year with Ottawa back in 2021-22 with 35 goals. But injuries and diminished performance have limited him since then, and this season he has 17 goals and 27 points in 48 games.

Pettersson is a four-time All-Star who topped the 100-point mark two seasons ago, but this year has been struggling amidst all the chaos and controversy surrounding his rocky relationship with teammate JT Miller. The Swede has 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 42 games.

Ottawa is looking to do something by the trade deadline to boost its playoff chances, and have also been linked to prominent defensemen on the trade market, including Marcus Pettersson and Ivan Provorov.