Red Wings adding Pettersson makes sense in this scenario

The chatter involving the Detroit Red Wings and Dylan Larkin should hit a breaking point in the run-up to the 2026 NHL Draft. Assuming the Red Wings move Larkin to wherever the trade winds take him, the talk would then shift to the team needing to replace their former captain in the lineup.

One of the names that has floated around is Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. Rumors of Pettersson to the Motor City are nothing new. In fact, they’re pretty long in the tooth.

The biggest holdup has been Pettersson's mind-shocking cap hit. His $11.6 million cap hit for the next five seasons is nothing to sneeze at. However, there might be a way that the deal could become more plausible.

According to insider David Pagnotta, the Canucks are suddenly whistling a different tune. Pagnotta pointed out that the Canucks may be willing to retain some money on Pettersson’s contract, potentially enough to bring down the cap hit to about $9 million per season.

If that were the case, trading for Pettersson would actually make sense for the Red Wings. At $9 million, Pettersson’s cap hit would essentially offset Larkin’s $8.7 million cap hit. Otherwise, Pettersson at anything higher than $9 million would be absolutely foolish.

Of course, Pettersson is nowhere near the player Larkin is. The Swedish forward has one 100-point season to his credit, followed by a steady backslide. But a change of scenery could spark a return to form, potentially making this trade sensible for Detroit.

Red Wings need to be wary of price tag on Pettersson

The flip side to this discussion is the price tag that the Canucks would attach to Pettersson. Since Vancouver would be willing to eat up a fair chunk of the contract for five seasons, the asking price would naturally be much higher.

Nevertheless, the price tag shouldn’t be prohibitive for the Red Wings. However, the point here is that Detroit needs to be careful. It’s worth pointing out that Steve Yzerman has no track record of panic buying. But he’s never really been in a situation like this.

Patience is wearing thin in Detroit. That’s why there’s additional pressure to ensure the Red Wings get enough pieces to push the rebuild ahead. That should come via the Larkin trade. Then, turning around and squandering them on Pettersson would be the last thing Red Wings fans would expect.

That said, what would be a decent price to pay for the 27-year-old center? Perhaps the Red Wings might surrender a first-round pick and a mid-level prospect. The Canucks can forget about a high-end prospect like Nate Danielson or Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

But why not a first-rounder and someone like, say, Anton Johansson or Carter Mazur? Would Sebastian Cossa be part of the equation?

Perhaps this entire conversation might be much ado about nothing. The Red Wings may look at Pettersson, even at $9 million, and figure he’s not worth the risk. Yzerman has pieces to make a much bigger trade, but it will all depend on what’s actually out there.

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