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The 2024-25 season did not go as planned for the Vancouver Canucks. After winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24, Vancouver missed the post-season, finishing the campaign with 90 points. Overall, there were many reasons why the Canucks missed the playoffs, with one of the major issues being the in-season rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
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While everyone is probably sick of hearing about the rift, it does need to be reviewed, as it created massive issues this season. To avoid any problems, all events mentioned in this article were either reported by another media member or, in some cases, witnessed firsthand. With this in mind, here is a look back at the rift between Pettersson and Miller.
Before we focus on this season, it is important to note that the Pettersson/Miller rift is not new. In fact, this issue can be traced back to when Bruce Boudreau was coaching the team. Ultimately, this rift was brewing for years, with it finally boiling over and exploding this season.
As for this season, there were a couple of incidents that stood out. The first occurred on October 23 during a practice. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until about midway through practice, when Pettersson and Miller had a heated exchange.
The incident started with Pettersson slashing Miller's stick near the blade, and Miller responded with a slash of his own before delivering a cross-check to Pettersson. Miller then started yelling at Pettersson, and at one point calling him "A f*****g baby". The incident ended with Conor Garland stepping in and having a word with Miller before the team returned to the drill that they were doing.
While the mood around practice shifted, there were no more incidents on that day. Pettersson and Miller even went head-to-head in a drill with no issues. After practice, the incident was played down, with Rick Tocchet saying, "That's part of the game, it's not a big deal."
A few days later, on October 25, "Sportsnet's" Elliotte Friedman spoke about Pettersson on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. While discussing Pettersson's start to the season, Friedman stated that he believed Canucks managment tasked the leadership group to try and motivate Pettersson. One name mentioned was Miller, with Friedman saying, "Miller is obviously taking that very literally."
As the season continued and the team struggled, the noise around this rift started getting louder and louder. This led to both Quinn Hughes and Tocchet discussing the rift on December 21. Both Hughes and Tocchet acknowledged that there was tension in the locker room, with Hughes saying, "Yeah. I just think 100%, I believe it's workable, and I know it's workable.
Later that night, Pettersson was asked about the rift between him and Miller. At the time, he denied that there was a locker room issue, saying, "It's good. I don't know why people still try and make s*** up." Pettersson's media availability was short as he left after only a few questions.
The next day, on December 22, it was Miller's turn to answer questions about the reported rift. Like Pettersson, Miller denied the report, saying, "This isn't a thing. So, am I bothered? No. But you guys are just wasting your time. I don't care. You can ask me all you want." Miller even suggested bringing Pettersson out to do a joint media availability, but that never happened.
Ultimately, the next few weeks were tense, with even a former teammate detailing their experience with the rift. That former teammate was Brad Richardson, who played 17 games with the two during the 2021-22 season. Richardson explained what the vibe of that locker room was like, even sharing that he said to Miller, "You have to ease up a little bit because he's not the guy you can push that far."
Included in these tense few weeks were plenty of trade talks. According to reports, Vancouver almost dealt Miller to the New York Rangers, while Pettersson was nearly traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. In the end, both players remained on the roster, at least for the time being.
With the noise continuing to grow, Jim Rutherford decided to step in and confirm that there was indeed a rift between the two players. In an interview on January 28 with "The Globe and Mail's" Gary Mason, Rutherford said, "I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved." Rutherford also spoke about possibly trading the players, sharing with Mason that if the team did make a trade, they would need a center back.
Just a few days after the Mason interview, Miller was traded to the Rangers on January 31, ending the saga. As expected, the trade left many in the fan base confused and angry, as Miller became a fan favourite. In the end, the trade didn't help either team qualify for the post-season, as both the Canucks and New York missed the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fast forward to the end-of-year media, Pettersson, Tocchet, and management had the chance to speak on the rift and how it impacted not just the players involved but also the whole team. When asked about the rift, Pettersson said, "We couldn’t prepare for the way it blew up, and just like that was like the focal point, not if we win the loss, it was like between us. Yeah, maybe we weren't the best of friends, but we respect each other as teammates."
As for Tocchet, he acknowledged that there was friction before he even arrived, but that the two had good seasons in the past. Vancouver's head coach also stated that he was involved in a number of meetings, and even said, "You don't think we've tried all that stuff? It just didn't work out." Tocchet also stated that he would love to have Miller on his team, but recognized that a change needed to be made.
Lastly, Rutherford spent some time talking about the situation on April 22 during his year-end media. Rutherford used his opening remarks to say, "We ran into an unfortunate incident in the first half of the season that hurt the chemistry of our team, that we eventually had to make a trade that we didn't expect to make and didn't want to make." While Rutherford did not say what the incident was, he did say, "I think a lot of things were personal," and pointed out that while this situation was between two players, in the end, it became an issue that impacted the entire team.
While teammates disliking each other is nothing new, this rift took on a life of its own and played a signifcant role in why the Canucks missed the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Based on comments made by members of the organization, this was a massive distraction that was only going to be resolved by trading one or both players. With this issue now resolved, the hope is that everyone who is part of the 2025-26 team can reset and work together to qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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