Point: Pettersson’s offense seems to have stalled out
As stated above, Elias Pettersson’s offense has taken a nosedive. Pettersson has scored 80 points in his last 115 games played. That's a 57-point pace over an 82-game season compared to the 412 points in 407 games of his first six campaigns. A 57-point pace may still play as a second line center, but that’s hardly a difference maker.
When you factor in Pettersson’s high cap figure, even accounting for Vancouver retaining about $3 million in salary, the Red Wings are still left with an expensive second line center eating up valuable cap space for their roster. To top it all off, Pettersson would cost at least one alternative from the farm system to balance out such a cap hit. If all Pettersson is going to do from here on out is put up 50-60 points per season, a solution can be found somewhere else.
Counterpoint: This is Elias Pettersson’s floor
Elias Pettersson is 27-years-old, and he’s signed until he is 33. While his absolute peak of 100 points may be in the past, there's a strong chance that this version is the worst he is going to perform over the course of this contract He put up 191 points in a two-season span from 2022-24. That player is absolutely the type that can push Detroit into another tier among playoff contenders.
Trading for Pettersson is the type of move that not only secures the team’s 2026 playoff hopes, it vaults them into another tier of teams that can start thinking about a deep run in the postseason. His current production, while disappointing, still pushes the team forward. If Vancouver retains some money along with the salary cap going up, the salary becomes more tolerable. The talent is still there to do more and it is so apparent that he likely will not do less.
At this point, Pettersson represents a buy low opportunity with the upside to make the Red Wings not just a playoff hopeful, but a consistent Eastern Conference contender.