A big story has been talked about a lot over the last few weeks in Vancouver, that of a conflict between two of the team’s star players: Elias Pettersson et JT Miller.
According to what is circulating, the two forwards do not get along and it has become a problem, both in the locker room and on the ice.
We also recently reported to you that Bruce Boudreau, who was the head coach of the Canucks between 2021 and 2023, confirmed that he had witnessed this situation and that there is indeed a conflict between the two players. .
It’s a problem and I knew there was conflict between the two players before I took the job at the time. However, I believed that everything had since been resolved.
It will be up to the head coach to try to ensure that this conflict does not affect their performance on the ice.
– Bruce Boudreau
In interview, the head coach Rick Tocchet and the captain Quinn Hughes did not attempt to deny that there was a difference between the two players, specifying however that they did not believe that it was an irreparable situation.
For their part, the main parties involved, Pettersson and Miller, took turns at a press briefing to assert that this whole affair had been exaggerated and that there was no real conflict between them.
Recently, former Canucks forward, Brad Richardsonwho was teammates with both players in Vancouver during the 2021-22 season, was on the podcast Missin’ Curfew and revealed what appears to be the root of the problem.
Let me tell you what the problem is and I’ll be super honest with you. I’ve been in the same locker room as these two guys.
I love JT Miller. But he’s a fucking animal.
I even told him myself: ‘You’re too rough with this kid. I know you tell him what I think too but he’s a young guy who doesn’t respond well to that kind of pressure and he’ll just snap. We’re going to lose him if you keep confronting him’
That’s what I told him.
JT Miller is real. But there is a lot of tension in this locker room and I guarantee you that something will eventually break.
– Brad Richardson
We therefore understand, in light of these comments, that Miller is the type of leader who does not accept half-measures on the ice while Pettersson is the type of player who does not react well at all to pressure. A combination which obviously creates frustrations and tensions inside the team locker room.
We now understand better why the Canucks GM who refuses to affirm that Pettersson will not be traded before his no-movement clause comes into force .
It will be very interesting to see how the team’s management chooses to resolve this situation, which could continue to grow if a solution is not quickly found internally. Could one of the two players ultimately end up being traded?
See the extract below
