Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks emerge as trade partners in $92M blockbuster says insider

The March trade deadline isn't here yet, but coaches and general managers are taking stock of the atmosphere to plan for the future. Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman will have his own plans at play.

With the Red Wings building a winning culture by having Todd McLellan hold his players accountable, which has led to their success this season, the team may have the building blocks of a landing spot.

His coaching abilities have kept them at the top of the Atlantic this half of the season, too.

There's a winning culture here.

The team is made up of a blend of veterans and a solid young core, underpinned by blue-chip prospects across the hockey world.

With this kind of cache of players, the team is in a position to make a big trade in March. One that could be for Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. It's no secret that he's a coveted player by GMs in the league.

His situation is being monitored by other teams at the moment in case a needle drops. Could we see a bidding war for the Canucks' 1st-line center?

After his falling out with J.T. Miller due to a dispute over his lack of work ethic and his cap hit ($11.6 million), the team traded Miller to the New York Rangers.

This didn't solve the issue of his lack of production this season, since he's scored 29 points in 39 games, and the Canucks languish last in the Pacific Division.

NHL Insider Chris Johnston believes Pettersson could be a good fit for the Detroit Red Wings.

The team had confirmed through GM Jim Rutherford that they were taking calls on everyone, and Pettersson was included.

It's given weight to the idea that a full rebuild is in the future for a team that had found itself in the playoffs in recent years but failed to achieve much more than an early out.

Johnston believes that the Red Wings are a landing spot, with a dynamic forward group including Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. He could center the second line between the two players and get quick production out of him.

They will have to consider other players in the lineup, including Simon Edvinsson, who will be due a new contract soon. A comparable deal for him would be what Philip Broberg had signed on for, an $8 million annual cap hit.

With $27.4 million available at the moment, it's not far-fetched to think that Pettersson wouldn't be on the Red Wings' radar, considering the playoffs are the goal, and the deadline is months away.

At $11.6 million and with an increasing cap space year-to-year, the team could find itself in a position to help Elias Pettersson find his game again.

It's difficult to tell what the team will have to part with in trade, but we can assume top prospects could be heading out the door if a trade were to occur between the two organizations. We got an idea last year, with a Red Wings trade proposal for Elias Pettersson back in May, but that's not an official framework we could see happen.

Would you be opposed to trading for Elias Pettersson?

Also read on Detroit Hockey Insider :
Confirmation of a Rasmus Andersson trade from Elliotte Friedman and the Red Wings are knocking