Elias Pettersson’s Olympics are over, meaning the Swedish centre will soon return to the Vancouver Canucks.

But how long will Pettersson actually don a Canucks sweater?

Well, the 27-year-old is in just the second year of a contract paying him $11.6 million per season. He has a full no-movement clause, meaning he holds the cards if the Canucks do want to trade him.

The organization has previously said they’re listening on everybody. And, the Los Angeles Kings have reportedly shown interest during the Olympics.

But would Pettersson be open to a trade to Hollywood?

“Maybe Elias Pettersson does want to change the scenery, and I know that he’s got ties to the Los Angeles area,” Irfaan Gaffar said on the DFO Rundown Podcast.

“And, that’s always been a place that he wanted to go to.”

Interesting.

Pettersson’s wife, Katelyn Byrd, was born in Wyoming, but did spend over a decade living in Los Angeles before her marriage to the Canucks top centre.

So, perhaps Pettersson would welcome a change of scenery in Los Angeles, but are the Kings actually willing to acquire him?

Why the Kings could have interest

The Kings have been entrenched in hockey purgatory, the mushy middle, for most of this decade.

They’ve suffered four straight first-round losses, and things don’t look much more promising this year, as they’ve been buoyed by the fact that they have 14 overtime losses. That’s tied for a league-high with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Still, Los Angeles’ new general manager, Ken Holland, has shown a willingness to make bold moves.

Holland traded for Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers just before the NHL roster freeze, sending out former first-round pick Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round pick in the process.

For better or for worse, that suggests the Kings are all-in on making the playoffs.

Even then, the complexity of taking on a player like Pettersson, who has six years remaining on his deal after this season, seemed more feasible this offseason. That’s especially true with Anze Kopitar’s $7 million salary coming off the books. Former Canucks winger Andrei Kuzmenko, who makes $4.3 million per season, is also a pending UFA.

However, if they truly want to push for playoffs, they’ll likely need reinforcements before the trade deadline.

Kevin Fiala is out for the season after suffering fractures in his lower left leg. If they opt to put him on LTIR, that opens up another $7.875 million in cap space.

The Kings clearly need another centre with Kopitar retiring, whether that happens now or in the offseason. Their urgency to bolster their offence has presumably increased with Fiala’s absence.

Even though Pettersson is nowhere near his former superstar level, his 34 points in 49 games would be tops among Kings centres.

Add in the fact that he’s accomplished that with a plethora of underwhelming wingers might add to the intrigue, especially since the Kings just added Panarin, and they roster Swedish winger Adrian Kempe. Of course, Pettersson also had undeniable chemistry with Kuzmenko as well.

What the Kings could offer Canucks

This is where things get tricky.

Los Angeles arguably has a bottom-10 prospect pool, especially after trading Greentree to the Rangers. Outside of that, their top prospects include 2024 second-rounder Carter George, defenceman Henry Brzustewicz, the 31st overall pick in 2025, and World Juniors MVP, left-winger Vojtech Cihar.

However, the inclusion of draft picks could be enough to get the deal done.

Los Angeles has their own first round in the next three drafts. If they want to keep their pick this year, would they be willing to part with a lottery-protected pick in next year’s draft? The Kings also have two second-rounders, including one that belongs to the Columbus Blue Jackets, which is currently projected to be the 52nd overall pick.

Vancouver doesn’t really need roster players as they enter a rebuild. However, if they’re looking to juice the return, they could offer to take on the contract of struggling winger Trevor Moore. The 30-year-old has two years left on his deal after this one, where he makes $4.2 million per season. Winger Warren Foegele is also rumoured to be on the block.

The big unknown is how highly both the Kings and Canucks value Pettersson. Based on the Panarin trade, the Kings didn’t give up a lot. However, Panarin was a UFA (even though they extended him for two years). Are they willing to really give up what the Canucks may want?

At least with Los Angeles, there’s a potential fit with a desperate team that shows no signs of wanting to rebuild.

They also have the cap space to take on his contract. Next season, the Kings have $88.4 million committed in salary, leaving them with approximately $15.6 million in cap space.

Not only that, but their number one priority is to find a top-six centre.

Perhaps that’s just enough to make this potential trade between the Canucks and Kings feasible, at the very least.