J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson Situation Could Affect Quinn Hughes Future in Vancouver

The situation with the Vancouver Canucks involving J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson is at the point where it cannot be resolved. As much as the team and the organization want them to work through their issues for the betterment of the team, Miller and Pettersson are past the point of no return.

While both players denied the reports earlier in the season that there wasn’t an issue and the media fabricated it, you heard General Manager Patrik Allvin, Head Coach Rick Tocchet, and Captain Quinn Hughes acknowledge there were issues that affected the team.

Vancouver Has a Problem with J.T. Miler and Elias Pettersson

Now President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, in an interview with Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail, acknowledged there is no solution in sight and wished the players could resolve their differences as this rift has been there for a long time.

“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. “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.”

Last season, the Vancouver Canucks were one of the best teams in the league. Vancouver lost in Game 7 in Round 2 of the Western Conference Playoffs to the Edmonton Oilers. Pettersson and Miller were able to put aside their differences. Both players signed eight-year extensions with Vancouver. Most recently, Pettersson around this time last year.

However, this season, the differences reappeared, and these two players just could not get along. When Miller took his leave of absence, Pettersson went on a tear. Now that Miller has returned, Pettersson is not the same player.

However, the differences affect more than just the two players involved. Rutherford acknowledged that they affect the team as a whole.

“When you don’t have chemistry, it’s hard to be that consistent team because there’s too much going on in the room for everybody to concentrate on what they’re supposed to do.”

Vancouver Canucks: NHL Rumors: J.T. Miller Trade Talks Heating Up

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New Jersey Devils: J.T. Miller Does Not Fit What the New Jersey Devils Are Building

What Are the Canucks Want in a Trade Package

So something has to give. Either J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson has to be traded. Maybe even both guys get traded. This would be a similar situation the Canucks put themselves in when they traded away Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider.

As Full Press Hockey has documented, the Canucks are in a no-win situation when it comes to trading Miller or Pettersson. Vancouver wants a fair return or a package similar to what the Winnipeg Jets got for Pierre-Luc Dubois, which includes three NHL roster players and a pick.

Over the weeks, the Canucks have moved off their ask as packages from different teams have varied. For the most part, Vancouver wants a center in return, but will that center be close to what either player is now, as Rutherford told Mason? 

“So yeah, if a centre goes out of here we have to get some kind of centre back but it’s not going to be the same as the centre going out,” Rutherford continued. “t might not even be a No. 2 centre, but you’d have to do the best with what we have until we figure out how to fill that spot back in. And then, of course, you have to get extra things (in any trade) that you can either use in the future to flip for NHL players now or for other positions or things like that.”

That’s why if Vancouver does engage with the Buffalo Sabres, center Dylan Cozens is not the calibre of Elias Pettersson. You could argue he might not be on J.T. Miller’s level, either. But we know Vancouver and Buffalo are talking. If Cozens is part of the deal, then so is one of Bowen Byram or Owen Power, as the Canucks have a need for defence.

However, the Canucks need to get this situation resolved, or this could have an impact on future seasons.

Canucks Have To Keep Quinn Hughes

Jim Rutherford was open and honest that if the Canucks have to tear it down and rebuild, Captain Quinn Hughes is being moved out.

“If we were going to completely start over, that means he goes,” Rutherford continued in 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.”

Quinn Hughes is a cornerstone defenseman that any team would want. He has been perfect for the Canucks, and everything runs through him on defense. Hughes just carries the play from the backend. He is one the top five defensemen in the NHL. You know, “If” he would be available, everyone would connect him to the New Jersey Devils so Quinn could play with his brothers Luke and Jack.

But that is down the road. But the Vancouver Canucks have plans to move J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson before Four Nations. However, if they can’t, they will try by the March 7th trade deadline or in the off-season to get the right package.