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Leo Honein
December 25, 2025  (9:59)

Nov 28, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) looks on against the San Jose Sharks in the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Photo credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The Vancouver Canucks sent shockwaves through the hockey world by shipping star defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

To acquire his services, Wild general manager Bill Guerin paid a steep price, and nothing guarantees that the 2024 Norris Trophy winner will sign a new deal to remain in Minnesota.

For the Canucks, this likely signals the beginning of a new rebuild, and the other big name to watch in Vancouver is, of course, Elias Pettersson.

The Swedish forward has had his share of struggles since last year, and we remember the internal conflict he had with his former teammate J.T. Miller, who was traded to the New York Rangers last winter.

Is Pettersson the next one to go?

Let’s just say the rumor mill could start spinning very quickly, which now brings us to talk about the Montreal Canadiens.

What the Montreal Canadiens would have to give up to acquire star center Elias Pettersson

We know that Kent Hughes has been searching for a second center for months, and insider David Ettegui had some fun imagining what an offer from Kent Hughes to the Canucks could look like, using the Quinn Hughes trade to the Wild as a reference point.

“Given the return the Canucks received for Quinn Hughes, if the Habs tried to acquire Elias Pettersson, the cost would be extremely high.

The price to pay for the Canucks would look like this:”

Michael Hage
Oliver Kapanen
Adam Engström
A 2nd-round pick

Would you make this trade if you were in Kent Hughes’ position?

Even though this offer seems reasonable at first glance, it remains that any NHL team looking to acquire Elias Pettersson will need to have a lot of available cap space.

He earns an annual salary of $11.6 million and is under contract until 2032.

Moreover, it is rather difficult to believe that the Canadiens’ general manager would take the risk of parting with Michael Hage and Adam Engström, two of his top prospects, just to fill a gap that could very well be addressed internally.

Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics

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What it would cost the Canadiens to acquire Elias Pettersson in a trade

Would you make that trade if you were Kent Hughes?