Now that the regular season is officially over, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet didn’t shy away from discussing the rumored rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T Miller this past season. There was lingering tension until Miller was eventually traded, and Tocchet admitted that it clouded the team’s 2024-25 season.
Speaking candidly with reporters on Friday, Tocchet offered rare insight into how deeply rooted the conflict was — and in doing so, seemed to throw his support behind Miller.
Tocchet acknowledged the situation “got uncomfortable” and revealed that the Canucks organization tried several times to mend the relationship between the two star forwards. However, despite their best efforts, it became clear that the rift was irreparable.
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He talked about podcasts suggesting the organization needed to let the players “fight it out”, he said, “You don’t think we tried that?” Tocchet shot back at critics who questioned the team’s handling of the situation. “A lot of meetings, a lot of things [were tried]. It just didn’t work out.”
Tocchet Appears to Back J.T. Miller
While he said both were great players, one of the more interesting narratives coming out of that media conference is that Tocchet was quick to note his admiration for Miller, calling himself “J.T. Miller fan.” While he also praised Pettersson as a “great player,” the tone of his comments suggested a level of frustration with the 25-year-old Pettersson, particularly regarding his approach to the game.
When it came to the rift between the two players, Tocchet did say, “There was no bad guy, but at that time, it just couldn’t work.” He added, “Did it get uncomfortable? Yeah.”
“I’m not going to say 100% [what went wrong], but at that time it just couldn’t work,” Tocchet repeated. “It’s unfortunate. Would I not want J.T. Miller in my lineup? 100 percent.” Ultimately, the Canucks dealt Miller to the New York Rangers, ending his time in Vancouver.
Tocchet’s comments don’t place the blame squarely on Pettersson, but he’s clearly frustrated that Miller is gone. Despite speculation that Miller was difficult to work with and potentially hard on Pettersson, perhaps he wasn’t the root of the issue.
Tocchet Called Out Pettersson
Making things more interesting, in that same media conference, Tocchet didn’t shy away from being tough on Pettersson. He’s the player the Canucks chose to keep and he didn’t have a great run, even after Miller was dealt away.
It was a rollercoaster year for the dynamic forward, who showed well at times but didn’t do so consistently. Pettersson is expected to take the reins as the most productive forward on the team, and Tocchet made it clear that the expectations have changed.
“He’s got to practice better,” Tocchet said bluntly when asked about Pettersson’s performance. He added that the superstar needed to take a new off-season approach, noting that “the plan has to change.” If Pettersson is going to lead the Canucks to the next level, the status quo is not acceptable.
“If you want to be a great player, you have to have that almost obsessive type of preparation,” which many will see as a direct challenge to Pettersson’s work ethic and focus.
With Miller gone and Brock Boeser soon to follow, Pettersson now bears the weight of leadership with Quinn Hughes. All the while, Tocchet’s future with the team remains in question. That media scrum sounded like a coach who was upset with the way things shook down and hinted that, perhaps, the wrong player was traded away.