Rick Tocchet Opens Up on Reported Feud Between J.T. Miller & Elias Pettersson
Photo credit: Bob Frid - USA TODAY Sports
Rick Tocchet opened up on Friday morning about the reported feud between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson before the former's trade to the New York Rangers.
Arguably the biggest off-ice story in Vancouver, or in the National Hockey League for that matter, this season was the was the reported feud between current New York Ranger and former Canuck J.T. Miller and Swedish forward Elias Pettersson.
Throughout November and December, there were reports of a feud between the two players, which led the Canucks management explore trade options for both of them before deciding on moving J.T. Miller to New York for a package that included Victor Mancini and Filip Chytil.
Rick Tocchet opens up on reported J.T. Miller-Elias Pettersson feud
On Friday, the Vancouver Canucks were meeting with reporters for their season-ending media availability before returning home for the offseason and for Rick Tocchet, whose future with the club is uncertain, he was asked about that feud between Miller and Pettersson.
Tocchet told reporters that it got uncomfortable at times and that there was a plenty of meetings trying to find a solution, but at the end of the day, it just didn't work out.
"This is a really hard question because I'm a J.T. Miller fan and Petey. They're both great hockey players. J.T. played a lot of great hockey for me. Obviously you guys know there was some stuff there before even I got here. What level? I don't know." Tocchet said.
He added, "We had a really good year the year before and they had really good years. So you never think it's, the smouldering is going to turn up. Did it get uncomfortable? Yeah. A lot of meetings, a lot of things. Could've something been different? You know, I hear people on the sidelines 'If I was coaching or I was...they've got to go to dinner and they've got to fight it out'. I mean, you don't think we've tried all that stuff? It just didn't work out. I know everybody is looking for a bad guy. I don't think there was a bad guy in the thing. It just didn't work out. At that point, it needed to be resolved and like Jim said, that's what happened. It's unfortunate because would I not want J.T. Miller in my lineup? 100 percent. But at that time, it just could not work."
He added, "We had a really good year the year before and they had really good years. So you never think it's, the smouldering is going to turn up. Did it get uncomfortable? Yeah. A lot of meetings, a lot of things. Could've something been different? You know, I hear people on the sidelines 'If I was coaching or I was...they've got to go to dinner and they've got to fight it out'. I mean, you don't think we've tried all that stuff? It just didn't work out. I know everybody is looking for a bad guy. I don't think there was a bad guy in the thing. It just didn't work out. At that point, it needed to be resolved and like Jim said, that's what happened. It's unfortunate because would I not want J.T. Miller in my lineup? 100 percent. But at that time, it just could not work."
With the feud now in the past, hopefully all sides will be able to move on from this and it won't be a talking point heading into the offseason or throughout next season.
For Elias Pettersson, this summer is going to be a great opportunity for him to reset after a tough year which saw him register only 45 points and a good training program will do him wonders heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
The Vancouver Canucks believe in him, hence why they kept him and signed him to a long-term contract in March 2024 as he's a big part of their future and they need him back on track to help push the team towards their goal of a Stanley Cup.
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