Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet didn’t dodge any hard questions at Friday’s end-of-season media availability, including one of the more prominent ones: the long-rumored rift between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller, and how it played into the latter’s midseason trade to the New York Rangers.
“This is obviously a really hard question because I’m a JT Miller fan, and a Petey fan,” Tocchet said. “They’re both great hockey players. JT played a lot of great hockey for me.”
The Canucks head coach acknowledged the tension between the two star forwards, some of which predated his arrival behind the bench.
“Obviously, you guys know there was some stuff there before I even got here,” he said. “What level? I don’t know, I know they had a really good year before and have had good years since… You never think the smoldering is going to turn up.”
But it did. Tocchet admitted that the situation became “uncomfortable,” and despite internal efforts, the team was unable to resolve it.
Ultimately, the situation led to Miller being dealt to the Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a 2025 first-round pick, which Vancouver quickly used in a deal to acquire defenceman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor.
“A lot of meeting and things – could something have been different? You know, I hear people on the sidelines saying, “If I was coaching, they’ve got to go to dinner or go fight it out.” You don’t think we’ve tried all that stuff? It just didn’t work out,” Tocchet continued.
Tocchet was clear that no one should be painted as the villain. “I know everybody’s looking for a bad guy. I don’t know if there’s a bad guy in the thing. It just didn’t work out, and at that point, it had to be resolved.”
The decision to trade Miller, who had been a key part of the Canucks’ core, wasn’t easy.
“Would I have loved to have Miller in my lineup? 100%,” Tocchet said. “But at that time, it just couldn’t work.”
With Miller now in New York and Pettersson signed long-term, Vancouver looks to move forward, but Tocchet’s comments offer a rare, candid glimpse into the internal dynamics of a team that’s been navigating drama all season long.
