Insider Reveals Blockbuster Elias Pettersson Trade Almost Happened Involving the Carolina Hurricanes

It's been a crazy 24 hours in the NHL, with the Carolina Hurricanes/Colorado Avalanche deal representing a major shift in the league which could change things up in both conferences.

However, things could have been so much different, as Canucks Insider Rick Dhaliwal has revealed that Vancouver was on the cusp of making a deal with Carolina involving Elias Pettersson, with Martin Necas a central piece of the package going to Vancouver in return.

It's unclear what the rest of the deal would have looked like, so it's hard to speculate whether not making this deal was a good or a bad thing for Vancouver, but this just proves they're still actively trying to move one of their top stars.

The Avalanche ended up getting more in return for Rantanen than just Necas, and while Pettersson would have been an attractive piece for Carolina, landing a star like Rantanen instead was just a much bigger deal that they couldn't pass up.

Now, there's another suitor out of the race for Pettersson and/or J.T. Miller, and with the team needing to shake things up in the locker room, this could continue to deteriorate a potential return for Vancouver, as fewer and fewer teams are willing to give up significant assets for either player.

Ultimately, Vancouver remains very active in trade talks over two of their biggest stars, and while they weren't able to make a deal happen with Carolina, given that teams like New York and Boston are looking to make major upgrades, a trade with either Pettersson or Miller could be coming soon.