One of the players that the Los Angeles Kings have been consistently discussed in trade rumors in the past few months is Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson.
A video that surfaced on social media early this week took the hockey world by storm in this past few days of Pettersson skating in Los Angeles this offseason.
However, Rick Dhaliwal of the Canucks Conversation offered a counterargument, saying he doesn't think Pettersson will be traded to the Kings before the start of the upcoming season. He also said that a trade between the Canucks and Kings involving Pettersson this offseason hasn't come close in the last few months.
Elias Pettersson still makes sense as a gamble for the Los Angeles Kings
One important thing to note from these reports is that Pettersson's wife is from Los Angeles, making it perfectly normal for him to be working out and/or skating on the ice in Southern California during the offseason. It's also important to say that this was not a Kings' practice or team skate that Pettersson was at in Los Angeles in the last week or so.
This doesn't mean the idea of Pettersson landing in Los Angeles won't ever come to fruition in the future. That idea shouldn't be completely dismissed.
The Kings have been connected to the Canucks center in trade speculation before, and recent rumors have continued to include Los Angeles among the teams that have at least kicked the tires on the possibility of acquiring him.
Even though there might not be anything imminent between the Kings and Canucks, the fit is arguably more intriguing now than it was earlier this offseason. The Kings are entering the first season without Anze Kopitar and the team still has a long-term need to add another proven top-six center alongside Quinton Byfield.
Pettersson is coming off another disappointing season offensively with the Canucks this past year, at least by the standards he established earlier in his NHL career, making it a significant risk to take on his contract. Yet, that decline in offensive production is also part of what could potentially make him attainable on the trade market if Vancouver eventually gets serious about moving him in the near future.
It would be unwise for the Kings to overpay for Pettersson based on his production at the peak of his career. But if his recent struggles lower Vancouver's asking price for him, Los Angeles general manager Ken Holland would at least have a reason to keep the conversation open.
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