The Vancouver Canucks have suffered because of the tense connection between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Jim Rutherford, president of hockey operations, acknowledges that he may have to make moves in order to resolve the issue.
If a rebuild is necessary, those deals might include Miller, Pettersson, and potentially defenseman Quinn Hughes, who won the Norris Trophy.
“If we were going to completely start over that means he goes,” Rutherford told The Globe and Mail on Tuesday of Hughes, who is in his second season as Canucks captain. “And we’d like to figure out a way that he’s here forever.”
First, Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin must figure out how to deal with the relationship between Miller and Pettersson.
“I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved,” said Rutherford, who is in his fourth season as Vancouver’s president of hockey operations. “But it only gets resolved for a short period of time and then it festers again, and so it certainly appears like there’s not a good solution that would keep this group together.”
Rutherford said he’d rather not have to trade either player but that it appears whatever issues are between Pettersson and Miller can't be easily resolved.
“We’ve had those conversations, and I think the parties understand that and I think they’ve tried,” Rutherford said. “As you know, sometimes emotions get deep and as much as people try sometimes you can’t get over it. It certainly appears that’s what’s going on here.”
Each of the Canucks’ top two forwards surfaced in trade reports the past 10 days.
The move was never completed, but on January 18, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported that Vancouver was on the verge of trading Miller to the New York Rangers and contemplated benching him against the Edmonton Oilers.
Before the Hurricanes acquired forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall in a historic three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, Friedman also reported on Friday that the Canucks were in talks with the Hurricanes regarding separate trades involving Pettersson and Miller.
“We’re talking about two of our top players,” Rutherford said. “Certainly, our two best forwards. It can really be tough on a franchise -- not only present but into the future -- when you’re planning on peaking this team into a contending team and then you find out that’s not going to happen. Or at least it’s not going to happen with the group we have now. Then you have to put together a new plan.”
Figuring out what that looks like without Pettersson and Miller, each capable of being a No. 1 center, won’t be easy. But neither has played to that potential this season, which has seen Vancouver go from winning the Pacific Division last season to being one point behind the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
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