Elias Pettersson has Manny Malhotra opening camp with a star still in Vancouver's plans, at least for now.
Rick Dhaliwal's latest update is the part that matters most. Pettersson has not been asked to waive his no-move clause, which tells you nothing is close right now.
That does not kill the noise. It just changes the tone. Teams can call all they want, but until Vancouver actually asks Pettersson to open the door, this is still more chatter than action. That is an inference from Dhaliwal's report.
The reason the story stays alive is easy to see. Pettersson is coming off a rough year by his standards, finishing with 15 goals and 51 points in 74 games.
That line still has value, but it is nowhere near the player who put up 102 points in 2022-23 or 89 in 2023-24. Vancouver is looking at a star whose production has dropped hard over the last 2 seasons.
The contract is what keeps this from being a small story. Pettersson signed his 8-year extension on March 2, 2024, so the Canucks are tied to him as a franchise bet, not a short-term flyer.
That is why Malhotra matters here. Vancouver hired him on June 2, 2026, and one of his biggest early jobs is getting more out of the team's highest-paid center without the whole market circling every slow stretch.
" Rick Dhaliwal: Re Elias Pettersson/Canucks: Teams that are desperate at center call; I checked in this morning, Pettersson has not been asked...to waive his no-move; that tells you...there's nothing close - Oilers Now (7/9) "
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A huge Elias Pettersson update just caught the entire NHL by surprise
The silence around the no-move clause says a lot. If the Canucks were really at the finish line on something, Pettersson would already know it.
That puts the pressure back on the player and the staff. Vancouver can shop ideas in the background, but the cleaner path is still trying to fix the version of Pettersson already on the roster. That is an inference from the lack of waiver talks and his existing contract.
There is still risk in waiting. Pettersson finished at -30 in 2025-26, and a star center carrying that kind of year is always going to draw questions about fit, usage, and where the lineup is headed.
But Vancouver is not boxed into a panic move today. The strongest current signal is that the club has not crossed from listening mode into real execution.
So the trade buzz can keep flying around, and it probably will. The hard truth is simpler: Elias Pettersson is still a Canuck, still protected, and still the player Vancouver needs to revive more than replace.
Will Elias Pettersson still be with the Canucks when next season starts?
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