Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller receive high honours ahead of the season: Canucks in luck

PUBLICATION

Cooper Godin
September 25, 2024 (12:46)

SHARE THIS STORY

Vancouver Canucks forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have been named on Sportsnet's top-50 players list.

Earlier this week, Sportsnet began their countdown of the top-50 players in the National Hockey League heading into the 2024-25 seaso. So far, Sportsnet has ranked players 50 through 21, with 20 to 1 expected to be coming on Thursday and Friday.

In their article on Wednesday, ranking players 30 to 21, a pair of Vancouver Canucks have found their way onto the list with J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.

Sportsnet's Sonny Sachdeva shared the list, which was put together by NHL insiders with one rule in mind, looking forward to this season and not focusing on 2023-24 and previous years.

Elias Pettersson comes in at number 25 on Sportsnet's list. Sportsnet insiders say that Elias Pettersson will have a fresh start this season, likely playing alongside one of the team's off-season additions, Jake DeBrusk, and will have plenty of pressure on him to perform as he enters the first year of his new contract that sees him earn $11.6 million.

"He'll get the blank slate of a new season to regain his footing, and a new linemate to work with in Jake DeBrusk, but there's no question the pressure will be piled high on the young Swede's shoulders in 2024-25 given how it all ended in May - especially in Year 1 of that new deal, which comes with an $11.6-million cap hit that makes Pettersson the fifth-highest-paid player in the league." Sportsnet said.

As for J.T. Miller, he comes in two spots ahead of Elias Pettersson at 23rd. Miller has been a big part of the team's turnaround since the hiring of Rick Tocchet in early 2022, with the Canucks head coach helping him improve the defensive side of his game. Last season, Miller had 100+ points for the first time in his NHL career and he'll look to be an offensive leader for the Canucks again in 2024-25.

"Fast forward to 2024-25, and the veteran enters the new season fresh off reaching the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career, while finishing just shy of 40 goals, too. In all, over the past three years, Miller's amassed the 10th-most points of anyone in the game, his 284 just a shade behind the likes of Auston Matthews and David Pastrnak.

The arrival of head coach Rick Tocchet has improved his play on the other side of the puck, too, Miller earning Selke votes in each of those three years of elite scoring. There's no question he's been a pivotal part of the Canucks' turnaround, and as they hope to build on their sterling 2023-24 season, all eyes will be on Miller to build on his own, too." Sportsnet said.

As Sportsnet continues their countdown in the coming days, we'll have to wait and see where captain Quinn Hughes lands, but it won't be a surprise to anyone if he's inside the top-ten.