According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Carolina Hurricanes were in deep discussions with the Vancouver Canucks in regards to star center Elias Pettersson that "advanced to a stage where both the Canucks and the player needed to make serious decisions about where their relationship was headed."

Trade talks around the Swedish centerman had started to spark last week after a rumor that the Canucks front office had told the upcoming RFA that they wanted an answer by the trade deadline sprung up.

The 25-year-old had stated that he wasn't going to have contract discussions till after the season, but it seems like swirling rumors and the threat of a trade has brought him to the table.

Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff has reported that as of today, significant progress has been made between Pettersson's camp and the Canucks on an eight-year deal.

While it would have been something to see another star land in Raleigh, the odds of this trade actually going all the way through were slim.

If anything, this was perhaps a tactic that the Vancouver front office used to strong arm Pettersson into getting a deal done.

A report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period stated that part of Carolina's initial trade discussions, which began over a week ago, involved Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi and that they were only a part of a potential offer package.

The NHL's trade deadline is a little over a week away, March 8, and it will be interesting to see what exactly Carolina may do by then.