The Buffalo Sabres have emerged as leading contenders to land Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson in a trade partnership nobody saw coming. According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, reporting the news during Sportsnet's "Saturday Headlines" segment,

The Vancouver Canucks signed Elias Pettersson to an eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension in March, ensuring he wouldn’t hit restricted free agency and committing to the 26-year-old as a core piece for the future. Less than a year later, Petterson is at the center of NHL rumors ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

The dust is still settling around the NHL following a massive blockbuster deal between the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, and the Chicago Blackhawks.

But with discussions for Miller not seemingly going well, it appears that teams are still calling about Pettersson.

Just a handful of days after Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere said, “The reality is, there’s not a lot of high-end centermen in this league. And teams have them, they want to keep them, or the price is crazy,

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed during Sportsnet's "Saturday Headlines" segment that the Canucks were in fact close to trading star forward Elias Pettersson to the Hurricanes. “There was a time (Friday) I thought that Pettersson was going to be a Carolina Hurricane,” Friedman said. “Obviously, it didn’t happen.

WIth drama continuing to build, the Vancouver Canucks may pivot back to Elias Pettersson as the key trade piece.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Buffalo Sabres have emerged as trade contenders to acquire Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson.

The Vancouver Canucks have had plenty of rumours surrounding them, with the most notable storyline being the reported rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T.

After Friday’s blockbuster trade between the Colorado Avalanche and the Carolina Hurricanes, which sent pending unrestricted free agent Mikko Rantanen, one of the NHL’s premier forwards, from the Avs to the Canes in exchange for sniper Martin Necas,