The drama surrounding Vancouver Canucks stars Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller reached new levels after last night’s 5-4 OT loss to the Ottawa Senators.
On Saturday morning, captain Quinn Hughes and head coach Rick Tocchet seemed to confirm some beef between those two players. Following a game where Pettersson and Miller failed to get much done, reporters decided to bring up the issue once again.
It was a question that Pettersson wasn’t a fan of as he shot back with quite a spicy answer implying that there is no story to the reported rift with Miller and people are “trying to make sh*t up.”
Pettersson asked post-game about the Miller chatter in the market: “I don’t know why people still trying to make shit up.”#Canucks
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) December 22, 2024
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier on Saturday night that the Canucks are aware of the issues with both players and are hoping the two of them can sort things out on their own. If they can’t, Friedman says the team could look at making changes, though no timeline has been set on when that could happen.
“The Canucks had thought this was solved last year, the team had a great year, the two players had a great year, and they thought they had moved passed this. Obviously, that wasn’t the case,” Friedman reported.
“In a perfect world, the Canucks number one choice by far is that Pettersson and Miller remain longtime players in the organization… If no, I don’t think there is a timeline or anything like that, but eventually, I think everyone realizes that something has to give.”
The latest edition of Saturday Headlines with @FriedgeHNIC 📰 pic.twitter.com/EeHsNAmniw
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 22, 2024
The entire situation has ignited the Canucks fanbase, as they have plenty of opinions on the matter. Following Pettersson’s spicy post-game availability, fans took to social media to give their thoughts on who they think is more in the wrong.
There was particular interest in Pettersson’s denial of the reports despite Hughes and Tocchet seemingly confirming them earlier that day.
Quinn Hughes and Rick Tocchet must be making things up. Get rid of both Petey and Miller. Both are clowns.
— Arpan (@arpan_on_BC) December 22, 2024
How is it making stuff up when you’ve gone whiter than a ghost since his return?
— Justin Credible (@JustinLai01) December 22, 2024
Did he not hear what quinn and tocc said pregame?
— Ryan (@JHKRyan) December 22, 2024
He missed the memo that Tocc and Quinn got today. Again, not on the same page as the rest of the team.
— VanCity Custom Jerseys (@VanCityCustoms) December 22, 2024
Pretending it’s nothing is hilarious.
— Canucks – 54 year old cup virgin (@NoCupsEver1970) December 22, 2024
If I were Petey, I’d ask for a trade outta here!
— George Mah (@marecageo) December 22, 2024
Ya that didn’t go well
— Chris (@stevkev1701) December 22, 2024
Reminds me of how little kids swear when they’re trying to look tough.
— ＲẸ𝔹乇ㄥ 𝐖ⓘ𝔱𝔥 𝒶 ６ ŞⓉг𝕀𝓷ⓖ (@PingYong1634207) December 22, 2024
Why is pettersson lying and gaslighting us?
— bambi pettersson (team miller) (@604evr) December 22, 2024
…did he forget that both his coach, and captain, confirmed the rift earlier?
😅
— Sunny 🏴 (@Takhar77) December 22, 2024
It’s certainly not the type of story you want surrounding your team as you prepare for the upcoming holiday break. Both Pettersson and Miller are world-class players and stars on this Canucks team. It’d be in the best interest of everyone involved if they could squash whatever is going on and get back to playing good hockey.
This may have started as something between two players, but it’s clearly starting to bleed into the rest of the team. Here’s hoping a bit of a break will help this team reset and get back to playing to their potential.