What Went Wrong with the Canucks? A Season Full of Drama

The 2024–25 season was supposed to be a big step forward for the Vancouver Canucks. The season before, the team had done pretty well during the playoffs and even had a Jack Adams-winning coach in Rick Tocchet. The team’s stars were entering their prime. Yet, the season was a failure. Instead of building on that momentum, drama ran rampant, and the year slowly fell apart.

By season’s end, Tocchet had taken off to coach the Flyers, J.T. Miller had been traded to the New York Rangers, and Elias Pettersson was the last man standing. The team looked vastly different, and the locker room drama that simmered all year seemed to have played a big role in how things unraveled.

Were the Canucks J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson Just Too Different?

One of the biggest storylines hanging over the Canucks all season was the dynamic between Miller and Pettersson. They’re both talented, but they lead in completely different ways. Miller is loud, intense, wears his emotions on his sleeve. Pettersson is quieter, more thoughtful, and doesn’t thrive in that kind of high-volume environment.

At some point, that difference started to create tension—whether it was something said during a game, in the room, or just a build-up of clashing personalities. Either way, it didn’t blow over. It stuck around. And the longer it went unaddressed, the worse it seemed to get.

Two Different Canucks Leaders, Two Very Different Styles

Then there was the dynamic between GM Patrik Allvin and coach Tocchet. Allvin, like Pettersson, comes from Sweden, where the culture around leadership leans more toward calm, team-first harmony. Tocchet, meanwhile, brought a fiery North American edge—lots of accountability, direct feedback, and intensity. Sound familiar? It mirrors the same Miller–Pettersson divide.

The tricky part? Both leadership styles work—but only if they work together in harmony. And from the outside, it didn’t feel like Allvin and Tocchet were on the same page about handling things. That misalignment at the top probably made solving what was happening in the room even harder. It also might explain why Tocchet, like Miller, found a different home.