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Red Wings actively pursuing Elias Pettersson.

The Vancouver Canucks‘ 2025-26 season was a complete nightmare. The Canucks finished the campaign with a 25-49-8 record and are the bottom of the NHL standings with only 58 points. The team with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks, had 72 points. That just shows how poorly the Canucks played this season.

Due to their struggles, the Canucks traded Quinn Hughes, Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, Tyler Myers, David Kampf, and Lukas Reichel all during the season. This revealed that the Canucks are ready to rebuild, which is understandable after how poorly this season went for them.

Due to how this campaign went, there is a real expectation that the Canucks will be open to moving on from more of their players during the offseason. Because of this, the Canucks are now being urged to trade away four of their top players during the summer.

Vancouver Canucks Urged to Tear Roster Down & Trade 4 Top Players

In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Adam Gretz took a look at one trade idea that each NHL team in the draft lottery should make if they land the first-overall pick. When it came to the Canucks, Gretz urged that they should trade Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, Jake DeBrusk, and Elias Pettersson during the summer, even if they don’t end up winning the lottery.

“The Canucks have the best odds of landing the top pick, but their plans should not change whether they pick first, second, or third. They need to get rid of people,” Gretz wrote. “Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek and Jake DeBrusk should all be on the trade block. Heck, Elias Pettersson should probably be too, if they can find another team to take his contract, even if the return isn’t ideal.

Boeser, DeBrusk, and Pettersson were three big names in the rumor mill leading up to this year’s deadline. Due to this, there is a real expectation that the Canucks will at least listen to offers for them. As for Hronek, he has not been discussed in trade rumors often, but he would have the potential to get the Canucks a major return if moved.

With the Canucks in a rebuild, it would be understandable if at least one of these four were traded during the summer.

These 4 Canucks Could Generate Plenty of Interest

When noting that these four Canucks are all impactful players, it would not be surprising if they generated a lot of interest during the offseason.

Teams looking for a scorer in their top six could look to land Boeser during the offseason. The 29-year-old forward had a down year in 2025-26, posting 22 goals and 48 points in 75 games. However, he is also a former 40-goal scorer, so he is a prime bounce-back candidate.

DeBrusk would be a nice addition for a playoff club looking to improve its second line. The 2015 first-round pick had 23 goals and 42 points this season in 81 games for the Canucks. This is after he scored a career-high 28 goals and had 48 points in 2024-25.

Teams needing help on the right side of their defense should kick tires on Hronek this summer. The 28-year-old bluelier provides solid offense from the point, as evidenced by his eight goals and 49 points in 82 games this season.

As for Pettersson, his expensive contract could complicate trade talks, but the possibility of him generating interest should not be ruled out. He is a former 102-point center, after all.