Elias Pettersson breaks his silence about the rumored rift in his relationship with J.T. Miller

By ARJUN B

Modified Dec 22, 2024 12:19 GMT

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Elias Pettersson finally broke his silence on the rumored rift between him and teammate J.T. Miller following the Vancouver Canucks' 5-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

When asked directly about his relationship with Miller, Pettersson dismissed the rumors.

"It's good. I don't know why people try to make shit up," he said, before apologizing for his language. "Excuse my language, but that's my response to it."

Pettersson became visibly frustrated when pressed further on whether the speculation has been a distraction this season.

"Oh my god, next question," he said bluntly.

The rumors gained traction after former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau's recent comments suggested he was aware of tensions between the two stars during his tenure in the 2021-22 season.

The situation intensified when current captain Quinn Hughes and head coach Rick Tocchet made ambiguous remarks about team dynamics on Saturday.

On the Senators loss, Pettersson said:

"Obviously good to battle back, but I think we shoot ourselves in the foot a little bit. I mean, power play, we can't do what we did there, letting it go. But then again, we fought back. But yeah, obviously didn't get the two points."

Elias Pettersson also expressed his thoughts on his performance by saying that wile he would ideally like to score three goals every game, he understands that earning points is not always easy. He emphasized that he doesn't focus on accumulating points. Instead, his primary concerns are securing wins and ensuring the team plays well together.

Brock Boeser (two goals), Quinn Hughes, and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Canucks, while Shane Pinto (two goals), Jake Sanderson, Claude Giroux and Josh Norris tallied for the Senators. Leevi Merilainen stopped 21 shots in the loss, while Kevin Lankinen made 17 saves.

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Elliotte Friedman's take on the rumored rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller

On Hockey Night in Canada, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman provided some insight into the relationship between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. First, Friedman noted that the Canucks thought this issue was resolved last season, but the problems continued to linger, and have resurfaced again this season.

He also added that the rift between the two Canucks stars has started to affect on-ice performance of the team, which should not happen, per Friedman.

"... this is probably the most important one, it has started to take its toll on the other people in the organization. The players, the coaching staff, and the hockey operations department." said Friedman

Friedman emphasized that Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller are long-term pieces for the Canucks, so the team expects them to maintain a professional working relationship. If they cannot achieve that, Friedman hinted that changes may need to be made, though he does not believe it has reached that point yet.