Mailbag: Horvat trade right move for Islanders; Pettersson's future

Here is the Feb. 1 edition of the mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on Twitter using #OvertheBoards. Tweet your questions to @drosennhl.

**What are the Islanders thinking with this Bo Horvat
, who's scored two goals in 12 NHL games) and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (might amount to something, might amount to nothing) is worth the price for a player who can help them now.
They're thinking they have a leg up on the competition to sign Horvat to a long-term contract, which is something Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said is on the to-do list.
And, just in case, since they acquired Horvat more than four weeks ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3, if things do not work out over the 12 games until then, the Islanders still have time to trade him and recoup the assets they gave up to acquire him.
The Islanders (25-22-5) are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Getting Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks for Beauvillier, Raty and the conditional pick was a strong piece of business done by the Islanders. This wasn't a desperation move. This was the right move.

What's your take on Elias Pettersson and his future with the Vancouver Canucks? Is there any indication that he wants to stay? -- LandellLinus
I'm a big fan of Pettersson. He should be a big part of the Canucks' future. The 24-year-old is a No. 1 center who has 58 points (21 goals, 37 assists) while averaging 19:51 of ice time in 47 games this season. He's on pace for 98 points assuming he plays 80 games, his potential maximum after missing two.
Players like Pettersson are not easy to find. When you have one, you do everything you can to keep him for as long as you can. I feel the same way about defenseman Quinn Hughes. The Canucks felt the same way about Hughes, too, because they signed him to a six-year, $47.1 million contract (average annual value of $7.85 million) on Oct. 3, 2021. Pettersson also signed a three-year, $22 million contract ($7.35 million AAV) the same day. Hughes is locked in with the Canucks through the 2026-27 season. Pettersson's contract runs only through next season, which is when they can, and should, find a way to sign him long term. It's going to cost them more than the $7.35 million they're currently paying Pettersson, but he's worth it.
Of course, Pettersson has to agree to stay in Vancouver. I don't know what he's thinking now, but I would imagine he's probably a little confused. The Canucks had higher expectations this season and haven't come close to meeting them. They signed forward J.T. Miller to a long-term contract (seven years, $56 million that will run through the 2029-30 season), but traded Horvat because they did not want to sign him. Rick Tocchet is Pettersson's third coach in 14 months, but chemistry with Tocchet and signs of a brighter future ahead should really be all Pettersson needs to sign with Vancouver. We'll know next season.
What do you do if you are Chuck Fletcher? It's been a long, rocky road in Philly. How does he keep his job this summer? Does he sell or try to retool again? -- @theashcity
This may sound cliche or corny to say, but Fletcher, the Philadelphia Flyers GM, seriously just needs to do what he believes is best for the team. However, to do his job, Fletcher needs the support and confidence from top executives, namely chairman and CEO Dave Scott. I haven't seen anything from Scott that tells me he is actively waning on his support of Fletcher, but we also rarely have all the details, so that's more wait and see than anything else.
The fact is with the Flyers, it's obvious how injuries have hurt them this season. The way they're built, they need forwards Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, and defenseman Ryan Ellis, to have a chance at being consistent. But Atkinson (neck), Couturier (back) and Ellis (back) haven't played. Take two top-six forwards and a top pair defenseman away from any team for an entire season and there is no question it will suffer. The Flyers are living it.
Here's the hard part: The Flyers are six points out of a postseason spot with 31 games to play, but there are three teams ahead of them also outside the bubble. Making up six points in 31 games is hard enough. Doing it while passing multiple teams seems unrealistic. Selling this season would be their best option. Forward James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Justin Braun are pending unrestricted free agents who could be moved. The Flyers will have to retain salary if they trade van Riemsdyk, but if it helps them get something for the 33-year-old than it's worth it. Those are relatively easy decisions to come to, unless the Flyers get red-hot and start flying up the standings coming out of the All-Star break. The harder decisions will be what the future holds for defenseman Ivan Provorov, forward Travis Konecny and goalie Carter Hart. And that could be where the retool comes into play.
Provorov and Konecny each have two seasons remaining on their contracts. Hart is signed through next season. If the Flyers want to retool, trading Provorov, Konecny and Hart, or at least a combination of two, after this season in true hockey deals, meaning the return would be players who would make instant impacts next season, would qualify. That's one direction I could see them go in because they're not bad enough to go into a full-on rebuild, nor do they have the contracts that could be easily moved to do that, and they're not good enough to contend for the Stanley Cup as currently built. It would be a retool in the hopes of reigniting the team next season, ideally with Couturier, Atkinson and Ellis in the lineup.

How in are the Rangers on Timo Meier? To me, he seems like the best option to shore up the Rangers' biggest weak point in right wing depth and scoring. -- @MattFitz2838
I don't know how in they are. That's not something Rangers general manager Chris Drury is going to divulge to me. But in the analysis of it, there are so many layers starting with the obvious, which is Meier's next contract. The San Jose Sharks forward is a pending restricted free agent, and any team that acquires him can't do it without signing him to a long-term contract. If he was a pending UFA that would be different. Then it would be a potential rental. It's not with an RFA because of the need to give him a qualifying offer unless there is a new contract in place. Meier's qualifying offer is reportedly $10 million. No team wants it to come to that, and no qualifying offer also means he becomes a UFA. So, unless the team acquiring him would be willing to trade him again if they can't sign him, the right move is to get him signed when they acquire him or don't do the deal at all.
At this point I don't see how Meier could fit in the Rangers' NHL salary cap structure with forwards Filip Chytil and
Alexis Lafreniere
, and defenseman K'Andre Miller, all pending RFAs in need of new contracts. I
wrote last week in the mailbag
that Meier would fit with the New Jersey Devils, and I firmly believe that. It's harder to see a fit with the Rangers. Of course, New York would likely have to include Chytil, Lafreniere or Miller in the trade to get Meier, unless it's trading forward Kaapo Kakko. I'd take Miller and Kakko off the table. The Rangers should not trade them. But do you really want to trade Lafreniere, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, or Chytil, who's scored 16 goals and showing signs of being a top-six center at the age of 23? Meier might be better than either one of them ever becomes, but the cost to find out is as high as the risk. On top of it, one of those players wouldn't be enough to get Meier. The Rangers would have to give up more. Does that mean forward Brennan Othmann too? He was New York's first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2021 NHL Draft. Othmann is 20 years old and the Rangers' top prospect.
Final analysis: To get Meier, the Rangers would have to give up a big chunk of their present and future, all young players who are still developing. It's a lot for a player who would require a massive contract as well. Meier is a high-scoring right wing (28 goals and 51 points in 48 games this season), something the Rangers need, but I think a rental is a better fit.
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