Talk about a trade gone wrong. Vancouver Canucks fans are bringing the internet down as they think that the team traded the wrong player in J.T. Miller. It was said that he was just not on board with the way his (former) teammate, Elias Pettersson, was playing. Apparently, it was just a personality issue — one that escalated to a stick fight during a practice session. Horrible, right?

But even more horrible is, after Pettersson’s Vancouver Canucks traded J.T. Miller, the Rangers player has been locked in and is back to his usual self. People have compared Elias Pettersson’s stats with Miller’s to substantiate why they think it was an ugly trade. Miller has scored 7 goals in 11 games for the Rangers since the trade. As for Elias Pettersson, he hasn’t scored a single goal in the past 14 games.

And that’s why when Pettersson was asked about the same, he said, “I haven’t played to the expectation that I have on myself, the franchise has on me…I want to turn it around more than anyone. Good practice today and ready for tomorrow.” The Swede also admitted, “Well, I think about it a lot, and I haven’t been the way I want to be this year. I haven’t played to the expectations I have of myself or the franchise has on me. And I’ll be the first one to tell you. That’s in the past. I just want to take these last 22 games – and hopefully more – and play my best hockey. I wish we had more wins; Wish I had played a lot better. Can’t dwell on that. Just try to look ahead.”

Throughout 58 games, he has managed to score only 11 goals so far and is on pace for just 16 — a far cry from the 32 he scored last season and his career-best 39 which he recorded during his 102-point 2022-23 season. But what exactly has led to this slump?

While he is a top playmaker, he has been hesitant when it comes to shooting. Case in point: his zero shots in the 6-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken. In fact, he has only managed a paltry 8 shots in the 10 games he has played since the J.T. Miller Trade. These numbers are concerning for just about anyone, let alone a player who costs his team $11.6 million annually in cap hit. Talk about the pressure of living up to a prize tag. 

But Pettersson thinks, “Pressure is good. It means you care.” To him, it’s all the more reason to get back to his usual ways, “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t think too much about it. I want to turn it around more than anyone.” And head coach Rick Tocchet, who has already cut him some serious slack, thinks he can still turn things around. “With the preparation of staying on the ice a lot more and talking to coaches, he’s doing more in the last 48 or 72 hours, he’s doing stuff that’s ‘wow’,” said the head coach after Tuesday’s practice.

But despite the support, rumors of Elias Pettersson moving out of the Canucks camp are making the rounds.

Where could Elias Pettersson head to?

Sometimes a change of scenery is what you need. Take J.T. Miller for example. He had 9 goals in 40 games for the Canucks this season and has already scored 7 in 11 games since his return to the Big Apple. And as Elias Pettersson is not having a great time this year, maybe a trade would do him good too. The franchise is just below the NHL playoffs bar in the Pacific Division, ranking 5th. So, the trade could make some changes as the few final laps remain on the board.  

The most discussed team as Pettersson’s trade destination is the Detroit Red Wings. Not having much luck in signing top talent here, the Red Wings could be thinking of rebuilding around Pettersson. And guess what? Ville Husso’s trade to the Anaheim Ducks has freed up around $13.5 million in potential deadline cap space — more than enough to accommodate the Swedish center.

Despite his slump in form, Elias Pettersson is still one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL—ranking fifth in the position as far as blocking passes is concerned. He is also a great asset when it comes to driving the game. So It will be beneficial for the Wings to have a player like Elias Pettersson. Let’s see what happens before the NHL trade deadline, which has set the final call at 3 pm Friday.