Elias Pettersson Comments on the JT Miller Trade After Months of Controversy
Elias Pettersson has finally broken his silence on the JT Miller trade saga now that the deal has finally been made, and he did not mince words.
A J.T. Miller trade by the Vancouver Canucks felt inevitable, yet somehow it didn't make it any less surprising once the deal finally went down in the hour prior to puck drop in Dallas.
The situation between Elias Pettersson and Miller has been subject to a great deal of speculation nationally over the past few weeks, with tensions reportedly becoming so strained that president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford addressed the situation publicly.
He admitted there was no feasible way to keep the group together. Asked about Rutherford's comments, Pettersson declined to comment further, instead opting to reflect on the good times he and Miller shared as teammates.
"We lose a skillful power forward - I mean, his play speaks for itself," added Pettersson. "All we can do now is look forward and wish him the best.»
"I think we've had some really good moments," said Pettersson. "The playoffs in my second year and then the playoffs last year. He's just a player that I think both of us made each other better.»
With Miller gone, a lot more onus will fall on Pettersson. As the team's top center, he'll be tasked with justifying his $11.6-million cap hit and leading the team forward, on the ice anyway. He admits feeling the extra pressure.
Veteran defenceman Tyler Myers said it's tough to see a teammate moved, but hopefully, the team can move on without off-ice distractions.
"There was an incredible amount of unnecessary noise around all this stuff the last month or two," said Myers. "In a lot of ways, I'm glad. It's a fresh start for both sides in terms of the noise. You always want to look forward and I wish Millsy all the best; we'll talk a bunch.»
The Canucks will need to put all of this off-ice drama behind them as quickly as possible to avoid falling too far out of the playoff race.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Roope Hintz | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jason Robertson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brady Skjei | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zachary Werenski | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Oskar Back | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Luke Evangelista | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Conor Garland | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kent Johnson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexander Kerfoot | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Joel Kiviranta | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cale Makar | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Thomas Novak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 53 | 36 | 14 | 3 | 75 | |
Capitals | 51 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 74 | |
Oilers | 51 | 32 | 15 | 4 | 68 | |
Hurricanes | 52 | 32 | 16 | 4 | 68 | |
Golden Knights | 52 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 68 | |
Stars | 51 | 33 | 17 | 1 | 67 | |
Wild | 52 | 31 | 17 | 4 | 66 | |
Devils | 53 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 64 | |
Panthers | 52 | 30 | 19 | 3 | 63 | |
Maple Leafs | 51 | 30 | 19 | 2 | 62 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||