The Olympic break has given everyone a breather, but it hasn’t slowed down the rumour mill around the Vancouver Canucks. If anything, things feel even busier. With the team in transition, other clubs are circling, trying to figure out whether the Canucks are still patching around the edges or considering something bigger.
Related: Canucks’ Elias Pettersson’s Olympic Reset: Can He Find His Magic Again?
You can tell how active the phones have been just by the number of teams poking their heads into Vancouver’s business. Some are hunting for extra scoring, others are wondering whether a frustrated star might be available, and a few are simply trying to get ahead of the market before the freeze lifts. Two storylines keep rising to the top: the Utah Mammoth looking for forward help, and the Carolina Hurricanes sticking around the Elias Pettersson conversation, whether anyone likes it or not.
Item One: Utah Comes Calling, and DeBrusk’s Name Won’t Go Away
Utah has been one of the surprise storylines this year—staying in the wild card mix while acting like a team that wants more than just a playoff cameo. They’re not shy about trying to upgrade their forward group, and they’ve been linked to Vancouver more than once. It makes sense: when a team wants NHL-ready scoring, they call clubs that actually have NHL forwards worth talking about.
(Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
That’s why Jake DeBrusk’s name keeps surfacing. Utah has been patching the top-nine holes with Kailer Yamamoto and Michael Carcone, two hardworking players who do a job but aren’t really built for heavy playoff minutes. DeBrusk fits the profile they’re looking for. He’s capable, reliable, and already proven in tougher games. He doesn’t need to be a star for them; he needs to raise the floor.
From Vancouver’s angle, this is one of those situations where you don’t have to rush anything. DeBrusk is sitting on 13 goals and 28 points, on pace for around 19 goals. That’s about what he’s been through most of his career. He’s in year two of a seven-year deal at $5.5 million, which means he carries enough term to be attractive but not so much that he becomes hard to move. If a team like Utah steps up with something that genuinely helps the retool, the Canucks would be silly not to hear them out.
Related: Carey Price: Saying Farewell to a Canadiens Legend
Whether it turns into something real is impossible to know, but the chatter hasn’t died down. Utah looks like a team ready to spend, and DeBrusk looks like a player who fits exactly what they’re trying to build. Sometimes that’s all it takes for a rumour to hang around.
The noise isn’t quieting, no matter how often the Canucks insist nothing is brewing. Around the league, teams are still calling to see whether there’s even a crack in the door, and insiders keep tossing his name back into the conversation. With Pettersson carrying an $11.6 million cap hit and a full no-movement clause, any move would be complicated. Still, that hasn’t stopped the speculation from picking up steam during the break.
The Hurricanes , and that makes a lot of sense. They have built strong, flexible lineups for years, but they’ve never had that true offensive centrepiece down the middle. They’ve wanted one. They’ve tried to find one. They’ve come close. But they’ve never landed a centrepiece player. Pettersson, even in a quieter season, fits exactly the kind of play-driving center they’ve been chasing: high-skill, creative, and capable of tilting matchups in a playoff series.
The other reason Carolina sticks is simple. They can actually make an offer. Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been mentioned as a cap piece, but he’s not the real story. The Hurricanes have prospects, picks, and enough organizational depth to take a big swing without gutting the roster. That’s rare for a contender. And from Vancouver’s point of view, a younger center with term plus futures checks the boxes for a roster that suddenly looks more transitional than anyone expected.
Related: Canucks News & Rumours: Hronek, Prospects Chiarot & Cootes
Nothing is close, and Pettersson still has full control over anything that happens. But the Hurricanes aren’t some random rumour chasing clicks. They fit, are motivated, and have the assets. In a league starving for elite centers, teams like Carolina don’t stop calling.
What’s Next for the Canucks?
The break might slow the games down, but it won’t slow the conversations. Utah and Carolina are the loudest storylines right now, but they won’t be the only ones once the freeze lifts. Vancouver has choices to make—small ones, big ones, and possibly era-defining ones. For now, the noise keeps building.
Now the question is how far the Canucks are willing to go with this rebuild. Do they retool from the bottom up, or do they hold on to a few players they still want to build around? We’ll see. But don’t be surprised if Pettersson is moved.
