It’s Christmas, and we here at CanucksArmy thought it’d be fitting to give our ideas of what might be on the Vancouver Canucks’ Christmas Wishlist, whether that be to Santa Claus or, in this case, Rick Tocchet reuniting JT Miller and Elias Pettersson back on the penalty kill.

Too much is being made of the potential rift between Miller and Pettersson in general. But too much is definitely being made about whether or not the two of them are playing together on the Vancouver Canucks’ power play.

After a stint of separation, the two were back at it again with the man advantage for Saturday’s overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. And to that, we say: Big deal! Of course, Miller and Pettersson can put whatever differences might be between them aside to play a little 5-on-4 hockey. That’s because playing on the power play is fun! Even mortal enemies could probably get along for a little bit while tossing the puck back and forth around the offensive zone. Especially if doing so while some of the best hockey players in the world scramble around in a little four-man box, futilely trying to stop you. Playing on an NHL power play must be downright empowering at times.

But being on the other side of it? That’s a very different experience. They say that camaraderie is often best built through adversity. Which is why the wish at the top of our wishlist this year is a wish for head coach Rick Tocchet to put Miller and Pettersson back on the penalty kill together. We think this one singular lineup move could solve a lot of the Canucks’ current and overarching issues, as any good holiday wish will do.

The Canucks’ PK is, at the present moment, right around the middle of the road. They’re sitting at 81.2% as of this writing, good for 12^th place in the NHL. That’s nothing to overly complain about but nothing to write home about, either. Middling, as much of the 2024/25 season has been.

So, there’s the first impetus to put the Miller-Pettersson PK duo back together right there: they’re good at it, and the Canucks need to be better.

Everyone probably remembers their run of penalty killing success shortly after Tocchet took over leadership of the team in 2022/23. Miller and Pettersson wound up sharing the league lead for shorthanded goals with five each, and they were at their very best when out there together.

Over the past three seasons, Miller and Pettersson have shared approximately 115 shorthanded minutes together, which is a bit more than a third of their respective total shorthanded ice times. During those minutes, they’ve been on the ice for nine goals for and just 15 against.

Now, under most circumstances, a 9-15 record would be abysmal. But shorthanded, it’s actually pretty remarkable. Any time a penalty killing unit can strike back with more than half as many goals as they’re allowing, that’s a good thing. Miller and Pettersson were a great PK duo, for a time.

But that time appears to have passed. Miller and Pettersson have only shared 9:13 of shorthanded ice time on the 2024/25 season, allowing one goal against. They’re also not killing many penalties, in general or on their own, either. Miller ranks 11^th in average shorthanded ice time on the Canucks this season, while Pettersson ranks 13^th.

Neither player is performing well enough offensively in the present moment. It could definitely be argued that neither is performing well enough defensively in the present moment, either. Perhaps a reshuffling of responsibilities could be the kick in the pants that both require, and increased penalty killing minutes is one way to do that.

Plus, Miller and Pettersson killing penalties are just plain enjoyable. At their best, they’re a PK unit that can strike back against a power play at a moment’s notice. That 2022/23 run was electric and can be electric again.

To summarize, we’ve got four main reasons why we’re wishing for a reunion tour of the Miller/Pettersson penalty killing experience:

– It’s fun for the whole family.

– It should help better the Canucks’ overall penalty killing numbers, and especially their shorthanded threat level.

– It could help shake each player out of whatever funk they’re currently in.

– And, most importantly, it would force Miller and Pettersson into a little bit of joint adversity on a nightly basis.

Block a few shots together, score a sick shorthanded two-on-one and kill a key two-minute minor in the late going of a close game. A few mutual moments like this could really work wonders. Or, maybe it won’t. But at this point in time and at this time of the year, is it not appropriate to reason they’ve got little to lose by trying and lay it all on the line for a friendship-restoring miracle?