Canucks acquire Marcus Pettersson from Penguins
The Vancouver Canucks' Pettersson contingent keeps growing.
The club acquired defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O'Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Danton Heinen, defenseman Vincent Desharnais, the rights to forward Melvin Fernstrom, and the conditional 2025 first-round pick the Canucks received from the New York Rangers in the J.T. Miller trade earlier Friday, the team announced.
If the draft pick is in the top 13 in 2025, Pittsburgh will receive New York's 2026 first-rounder, unprotected.
Pettersson, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent, but he's someone the Canucks' front office - president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin - know well from their days with Pittsburgh.
This trade is reminiscent of a previous deal Rutherford and Allvin pulled off: After trading away Bo Horvat in 2023, the Canucks used the first-round pick they received from the New York Islanders to help land Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings just over a month later. Hronek, however, wasn't a pending UFA.
Pettersson, a 6-foot-3 blue-liner, has recorded 18 points in 47 games this season while averaging 22:03 per contest. It's the third straight season he's averaged over 20 minutes per night. He's been a strong play driver at both ends of the ice for most of his career.
Marcus Pettersson, acquired by VAN, is a top pair defenceman. Solid puck-mover and complementary presence, has improved offensively. Tall but not strong, gets hit constantly. Very good defensive stick and can swing the puck around the offensive zone. Hits the deck a bit too much. pic.twitter.com/oI8NOS13fH
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 1, 2025
O'Connor, also a pending UFA, carries a $925,000 cap hit. The 6-foot-3 power forward has tallied six goals and 10 assists in 53 games this season.
Desharnais and Heinen both joined the Canucks as free agents this offseason, but neither addition panned out.
Heinen, 29, is bound for his second stint in Pittsburgh after spending two seasons with the Penguins from 2021-23. He recorded a career-high 18 goals in his first season in black and gold. The 29-year-old has managed just six goals and 12 assists in 51 games in his home province this year, though. He's signed through next season at $2.25 million annually.
Desharnais is in the first season of a two-year deal worth $2 million per year. He's tallied three assists in 34 appearances this season after two campaigns with the Edmonton Oilers. He's a right-shot defender with a hulking 6-foot-7, 226-pound frame.
Fernstrom was a 2024 third-round pick by the Canucks. The 6-foot tall right-winger has managed eight points in 35 games with Orebro of Sweden's top professional league this season.
Marcus will be the third Pettersson on the Canucks' roster, joining forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Elias Pettersson. None are related.