3 reasons why NY Islanders shouldn't trade for Canucks' Elias Pettersson feat. lazy, no-grit attitude

The NY Islanders are one of the teams rumored to be interested in Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks.

According to a post by SNY on Wednesday, the Islanders have kicked the tires on Elias Pettersson amid the wild speculation in Vancouver. While Pettersson would be a solid addition to their lineup, there are three reasons why the New York Islanders should pass on Elias Pettersson.

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Three reasons why NY Islanders shouldn't trade for Elias Pettersson

#3 The Isles cannot afford the cap hit

The most glaring reason is Pettersson’s cap hit. According to PuckPedia, he's under contract until 2032 and carries an $11.6 million cap hit, which is too rich for the Islanders’ blood at the moment. The Isles would need to clear significant cap space to ensure a deal works.

The NY Islanders are right up against the cap at the moment, with PuckPedia reporting the team having about $500K in space at the moment. As such, the Isles cannot afford to add Elias Pettersson, while needing to re-sign Noah Dobson and attempting to build a solid cast around Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal.

The Isles cannot afford Pettersson unless they go through a massive cap dump. However, it doesn’t seem like the Canucks would be willing to take on any bad contracts, considering they’re contenders this season.

#2 The Islanders don’t have the pieces to pull off a trade

The Canucks are said to want a center to replace Pettersson while getting pieces of immediate value. As such, they aren't interested in prospects or draft picks to fill out the trade.

If that’s the case, the NY Islanders don’t have the pieces to make a deal work. Unless Barzal goes the other way, the deal wouldn’t make sense. While the Isles could send Brock Nelson the other way, the Canucks might not go for it, considering Nelson is soon to be an unrestricted free agent.

Of course, Nelson could get the ball rolling, but the Isles would need to throw something else in to sweeten the pot. Otherwise, the Canucks may balk at the deal.

#1 Pettersson’s lazy, no-grit attitude

Let’s assume for a moment that the Isles clear enough cap space and find the pieces to make the deal work. There’s one other major issue that would make trading for Pettersson senseless: he's not a Patrick Roy-type player.

Roy has a hard-nosed system that relies on players checking the opposition. It’s a grinding system that requires a tough attitude from players. Unfortunately, that’s been one of the biggest criticisms surrounding Pettersson. He tends to vanish for stretches in games, particularly when the action gets hard and heavy.

Pettersson would provide the NY Islanders with another high-end scorer, but he doesn’t fit into Roy’s coaching style, potentially putting him in a situation where he could struggle even more.