PITTSBURGH — Jim Rutherford, the president of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks, knows Marcus Pettersson well.
The fortunes of his team are another matter.
Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin made their second dramatic splash of the evening Friday, sending a conditional 2025 first-round pick, Danton Heinen, Melvin Fernstrom and Vincent Desharnais to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Penguins’ steady defenseman and Pittsburgh forward Drew O’Connor.
Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has acquired defenceman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Danton Heinen, defenceman Vincent Desharnais, the rights to forward Melvin… pic.twitter.com/WxHPGna29f
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 1, 2025
Earlier in the evening, the Canucks made a blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers, a trade that featured controversial forward J.T. Miller.
Are the Canucks, who were a spectacular story last season by pushing the Edmonton Oilers to the brink, a team with Stanley Cup aspirations?
“That’s a good question,” Rutherford said about midnight ET. “It’s been a trying season, to say the least. To be honest, we’re in a fight just to make the playoffs right now. But, we are building for the stretch run. And the thing is, we’re also building for the future as well. We’re building moving forward.”
In that respect, this trade is dicey. The Canucks are giving up the top-13 protected first-round pick they acquired from the Rangers, and they’re acquiring two players in Pettersson and O’Connor who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents July 1.
The temptation to land Pettersson was too much for Rutherford to bypass. Vancouver has been interested in Pettersson all season. So, too, were numerous other teams.
Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas couldn’t pass up this deal.
“We had to give up something to get him, but Marcus is one heck of a defenseman,” Rutherford said. “I traded for him when I was in Pittsburgh, and I’m very happy with how that one turned out. I traded Daniel Sprong for him, and I can still remember people saying, ‘How on earth can you trade Daniel Sprong for this guy?’ Well, I’m pretty darn happy with how that worked out. How good did that trade work out? And here we are again. We need an upgrade, and he’s going to give us that. I know that he will.”
Pettersson isn’t flashy, but he is a lanky, intelligent defenseman who is an expert penalty killer and handles the puck well enough to play with offensively gifted defensemen.
Look for Pettersson to immediately be inserted into the top four in Vancouver.
“He’s just what we need, in my opinion,” Rutherford said. “You know what he is? He’s just a very, very steady defensive defenseman. You need to have guys like that if you want to win in this league. And he’s one of the really good ones.”
The Vancouver dressing room has been the talk of the NHL in recent weeks because of the relationship issues between Miller and Elias Pettersson.
Don’t expect any issues with the newest Pettersson in Vancouver.
Marcus Pettersson was a beloved figure in the Penguins’ dressing room, and Rutherford knows it all too well.
“Talk about a character guy,” Rutherford said. “One of my favorites. We know that we’re getting one heck of a good guy to go along with the fact that he’s one heck of a good hockey player.”
(Photo of Marcus Pettersson: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
