The biggest story surrounding the Vancouver Canucks these days has been a potential rift between two top centremen, JT Miller and Elias Pettersson.

The club returned home after a quick two-game road trip against the Utah Hockey Club and Vegas Golden Knights. Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet met with the media and touched on the topic ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators:

“Listen, it’s all about the crest. As long as I coach, it’s all about the crest. It’s not about what’s on the back. You’re going to have arguments; you’re going to have fights. I’ve been fortunate to be [in] the Stanley Cup [finals] three times, two as a coach, one as a player. There’s always been something that has galvanized a team. Whether people are bickering or complaining, it happens all the time.

“It’s my job to make sure that, you know, guys have a voice and you move on from certain stuff. But, you also need to be mature, too. You don’t have to play PlayStation together or go to dinner together, but [if] it’s your turn to go to the net, go to the net. It’s really what it comes down to.”

Since Miller’s return, both forwards have struggled to produce. Miller registered three assists through his first two games but has since gone pointless over his previous three games, with a minus-two rating. Pettersson has yet to register a point and has a minus-four rating during the five-game stint.

Tocchet spoke about the offensive struggles between the budding stars:

“Well, Millsy just got back – three or four games. So, it’s a matter of, for me, if you’re struggling, make sure the other parts of your game aren’t struggling. You’ve got to clean up certain things. Like, some guys are struggling and they aren’t moving their feet. They’re really not doing much of anything, in the sense that, they want to score so bad they forget, “Man, I’ve got to go somewhere. I’ve got to do something else, or I’ve got to be a good forechecker.” As a coach, you’ve got to remind them. There have been pockets of those guys playing well, and there have been pockets where [those guys] are struggling. Guys [are] going to go through an eight-game slump or 10-game slump that becomes a story if teams aren’t doing the right things.”

The noise did not get any louder between the two after they were split apart on the team’s top power-play unit. Here is what Tocchet had to say regarding the decision to play them on separate units:

“Well, Millsy just got back. I didn’t want to overload him. It was two games. Last game, Millsy came off; he was tired. It’s not a big deal to split people up sometimes. When Millsy was gone, the power play was pretty good, right? So, I didn’t feel it was fair for Jake [DeBrusk] to come off the ice. But obviously, for us to be successful, yeah, those guys have to drive play for us.”

During morning skate, Tocchet had both players back on the power play unit, with Pettersson at the net front, taking the spot of Jake DeBrusk.

Canucks Captain Quinn Hughes also met with the media to give his opinion on the rift between his two star centremen:

“Yeah I mean, I think that it’s been a lot of learning for everybody in here. Obviously, not to beat around the bush, everybody knows what the reports are out there, but I think that everyone expects a lot from each other. There’s times I get upset with Millsy; there’s times I get upset with Petey; there’s times I get upset with Hronek. That doesn’t mean I don’t love those guys and vice versa. I’m going to make some bad plays; they’re going to make a play where I wish they saw me here or saw me there, but over the course of playing together for six years, I think those things are normal; they’re going to happen.

“As far as my leadership, I think continuing to keep everyone on the yellow brick road and what our ultimate goal is, which is short term, having a good game tonight and long-term, being a successful team and making it to the playoffs.”

Hughes on if this is a workable issue:

“100% I believe it’s workable, and I know it’s workable. We saw it last year. I think that both of them have been going through their own struggles this year. I believe in both of them; they’re both great players and great people. Like I said, there’s times where we all get into it but it is a family in here and we just have to continue to push forward and play the way we want to play. If there’s a positive looking forward to this, I think Petey and Millsy will both say they haven’t played their best hockey this year and we’re still where we are in the standings. That’s a positive thing that we can look at. Two of the best players out there can be better.”

To watch the full interview from the Canucks Captain and Head Coach, watch it below: