All I see are Canucks fans saying we need to take a flier on a cheap young player with potential that has fallen out with their current team. That's exactly what Petey is. Trading him for pennies on the dollar isn't going to accomplish much.
I hate to say it but we are basically banking on him refinding his groove this offseason. But trading him is completely stupid.
Not trading Petey might be in the worst range of outcomes.
The sooner that people start accepting that Petey's 100 point year is an outlier and that's not the season that represents the type of player he is - the sooner people realize that trading him is the best outcome.
We are about to enter have our own Swedish Jonathan Huberdeau.
He still has trade value but getting rid of that contract will enable this team to do so many things. He's also a locker room cancer right now... not in your typical sense but he's a selfish, arrogant player that doesn't take accountability and is being paid as a top player to do cardio. Imagine the guys in the locker room... seeing your fellow colleague make $11.6M USD to skate around and play like a third line center. No wonder why JTM was done with him.
Petey is not a leader. He's not someone that puts in the work like a top player does. Management has called him out in various ways on his conditioning, work ethic, leadership/accountability, and being a face of the franchise.
Petey has not held his end of the bargain since the Canucks gave him the biggest contract in Canucks history. And things are not looking any better.
Also, let's stop pointing to his 100 point C like that was the baseline. That was a statistical outlier playing in a Bruce Boudreau run and gun system. Petey at his best is a point per game two way center. His game is also not well equipped for the playoffs as he's too soft and falls down every shift. He's easily out-muscled. Either way, he's not worth $11.6M... and you don't want Petey to be one of the leaders of your franchise. Lack of leadership, work ethic, communication, and accountability. He's someone that can excel in your locker room if you already have the leadership there - he can't be one of your faces of the franchise. The most optimal move is to ship him off. Another 7 years of this essentially guarantees a black mark in your capsheet that severely limits your ability to contend.
His time with the Canucks is almost all but over. I mean he was almost traded to Carolina couple weeks ago and has looked worse since that point in time. He's done with this organization, and it's the right move for everyone.