Canucks Trade Rumors: Proposed Deal Could Land Pettersson with Flyers

With the Vancouver Canucks taking calls on Elias Pettersson and JT Miller, teams and their supporters all over the league are salivating at the chance to scoop up one of these All-Star centers.

But since Pettersson is the one without any trade protection this season, he is the one that non-contenders will be focused on as they won't need his blessing. William James of Philly Hockey Now has proposed a trade package that the Flyers should make to the Canucks, rightfully stating that "the biggest need the Flyers have had for years is a true number-one center."

Imagine a first-line pairing of Pettersson with Matvei Michkov.

With the Canucks in need of a center as part of any return, he proposes the following (keep in mind this is from a Philly-based writer):

Philadelphia Flyers Receive:

Elias Pettersson, C

Vancouver Canucks Receive:

Scott Laughton, C/F
Jett Luchanko, C
One, or two first-round picks

Could Luchanko have been that No. 1 center of the future in Philly? Perhaps, but at 18 years old, nothing is guaranteed for last year's first-round pick (13th overall) who is back in juniors right now with the Guelph Storm after a brief four-game tryout in the NHL back in October.

Luchanko is a top-3 prospect in the team's system by most accounts, and would be a nice future piece for the Canucks. But what about the present?

Laughton, of course, would not be able to fill the shoes of Pettersson, and would be a bottom-six option in Vancouver, with one more year at $3M left on his contract.

Clearly, this type of deal does not make the Canucks better, by any stretch of the imagination, this season.

As James notes, the lack of an NHL-ready top-six center (or any truly immediate impact for the Canucks' lineup) in this hypothetical package could get the Canucks to pivot and try to land one of the Flyers' better defense options instead, like Rasmus Ristolainen, or a younger option like Jamie Drysdale or Emil Andrae.

This won't be the last proposed package to try to pry Pettersson loose from the Canucks, and we'll keep an eye on the chatter.