** NHLRumors.com transcription
Mackenzie: “The one player in Vancouver I’m really intrigued by, I’ve asked about it before, and I want to bring it up again, but Elias Patterson. Second year of an eight-year contract with a cap hit of $11.6 million.”
In theory I can understand why you would want to leave this player. The question is: who will take on this contract, where it is now? I’m very intrigued by teams that might be interested in that player. When he’s at his best, he’s one of the best players in the league. But he didn’t look like that, did he?
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Johnston: “He hasn’t done that, but the one thing the Canucks are aware of is that he’s the kind of guy that goes, gets a fresh start and has a, you know, takeoff, and then everyone says, why just give him away? So I, I, you’re right for all the reasons in front of us, that’s a tough, tough guy to move.
You know, I wonder what the Carolina Hurricanes had discussions about last year, about Pettersson, and I think they might be looking to add some more impact players to their roster. And you know, you probably believe that if you plug them into their system and give them a fresh start and surround them with the players that they have there in the environment that they have there, that it could work. So you know, that’s just to name one team.
You know, there are other teams. You know, the LA Kings are losing Anze Kopitar at the end of the year. Wonder if there’s a fit there. I saw that the Detroit Red Wings were interested in someone like Petterson. I just don’t know if the Canucks will be able to get the kind of returns that make sense from either of these teams.
And you know, they’re not at a stage where they feel like they have to move this guy, but they’re listening to everyone. I mean, that’s what comes through in Rutherford’s comments to Patrick Johnson: that, you know, there’s not, there’s not a conversation that they’re not open to. It doesn’t mean they’re going to do that, but I think they should. They need to consider all potential options as they basically want to get a high draft pick this year and rebuild for years to come.
So, you know, it’s a shame how things have gone for Petterson, because I think his values have already declined from a year ago when these comments, or, sorry, when, this contract was first dangled around somewhere and, yeah, that’s true, he’s not the asset he once was.
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But come on, look at his take on his history. I mean, it’s hard not to wonder that most of the time this doesn’t just go away. But you know, I don’t know. I also don’t think anyone has a simple answer: what you know, why things turned out the way they did for them. So, you know, he’s going to be pretty well reflected on the next trade board when it comes out, because he’s a big name, but it’s a huge contract, and I think there’s risk involved, for anyone looking at bringing him in seriously.
Mackenzie: “Three years ago, Elias Patterson was a 100-point player. Two years ago, he was in the 30-goal plateau. In fact, he had three consecutive seasons where he could do that. If there’s a player that, if you’re a GM, you hope he finds a way to come back. Like, I understand why you would look at Elias Patterson and hope he comes back. It’s just luck when you leave that contract behind you.”
Johnston: “And don’t forget that it’s hard to get impact centers and trades. As usual, that requires trading at slightly reduced assets.
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You know, like Nazem Kadri ends with its no-move clause and moves. Someone like Brayden Schenn in Saint Louis. I mean, these are centermen you can get. Maybe Ryan O’Reillyalthough that’s becoming less and less likely now that the Predators are playing as well as they have of late.
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But there isn’t a plethora of players you could put in your top six center and even trade for at this point. But you know Patterson is one of them, so I think teams are going to think long and hard about whether it makes sense.”
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