On Friday, the Vancouver Canucks upended their roster.
By the end of the night, J.T. Miller was gone, along with Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, Erik Brännström, and two prospects. In their stead came defenceman Marcus Pettersson, forwards Filip Chytil and Drew O’Connor, and prospect defenceman Victor Mancini.
It was a franchise-altering day but one that was a long time coming.
During Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that the team attempted to address issues between Miller and Elias Pettersson early in the season.
“I heard that earlier in the year, the Canucks went on an east coast swing and it included going through Florida,” said Friedman. “I think at one point there, a small group of players got together and asked, ‘Can you guys solve this?’ Obviously, it stayed rocky.”
That would have come in October after the Canucks dropped the first three games of the season. It’s a time when tensions might have been a bit high for a team with sky-high expectations for themselves.
"This was a conversation...that started about two months ago"
According to Patrik Allvin, who spoke to the media at Vancouver International Airport on Saturday afternoon, things came to a head around late November or early December.
“This was a conversation between myself and J.T. and his agent that started about two months ago,” said Allvin. “With his health and the environment we had, during the time and during the discussions leading up to yesterday, I felt that he probably needed a fresh start — where he was in his life and in his age and with his family, this was the best option for him and the Vancouver Canucks.”
The comment about Miller’s health is an interesting one. Miller’s physical health was an issue from the start of the season, as he missed the entire preseason and seemed to be playing through some sort of upper-body injury early on. But Miller’s physical health wouldn’t suggest he needed a fresh start. His mental health, however, might.
Miller’s leave of absence for personal reasons in November was reportedly so he could “reset himself mentally" and when the outside noise surrounding the rift between Miller and Elias Pettersson reached a fever pitch in mid-December, Miller said he was only worried about the noise "between my ears," saying, "I have a lot of stuff to worry about for myself."
Miller’s comments would have come after he and his agent had their discussions. Clearly, he would have had a lot on his mind. Allvin acknowledged that Miller had been “dealing with a lot of other things.”
“We tried and we talked over the last two months to see if there was a common ground moving forward here in Vancouver but it made it clear to me that this was in the best interest for J.T. Miller and the Vancouver Canucks,” said Allvin to Sportsnet.
"He never requested a trade"
When asked if something had changed two months ago or if there was a breaking point at that time, Allvin equivocated and didn’t answer the question directly.
“I think part of it was for J.T., when he took the leave of absence there, and the conversation that him and I had after and leading up to that, and where the team was as well, that I have a lot of respect for him,” said Allvin. “I think he has been a top player for Vancouver Canucks, so we worked together on this one. And he obviously had the full no-move there, so he was aware of what I wanted to accomplish. And him and his agent, Brian Bartlett, were really good during this process.”
If that answer did more to obfuscate the reasons why Miller had to be traded than clarify them, Allvin was at least clear on one thing: Miller didn’t ask to be traded.
“This was something that J.T. and I discussed — he never requested a trade,” said Allvin. “This was the best for him, as I said, for him and his health and his family and for the Vancouver Canucks.”
"I wouldn't say it was one or the other"
It was often said in the media leading up to the trade that the Canucks had to move one of Miller or Pettersson, perhaps even both. Allvin, however, said that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“I wouldn't say it was one or the other,” he said. “This was something that, as I said, two months ago in the discussion I had with J.T., we felt for his, as I said, for his health, and for the team's best, that this was probably a direction that was needed.”
In other words, whatever the issues were that led to Miller being traded went beyond a rift between Miller and Pettersson.
“I wouldn’t just say it’s about two players — it’s about 23 men, that in a dressing room, you hold each other accountable,” said Allvin. “We’re not running a country club here, we’re running a professional hockey team and the players demand a lot from themselves and each other, so it’s going to be a competitive environment.”
Miller was a player with a lot of gravity in the Canucks’ room. He was a big personality and one who frequently took a tough-love approach to demanding better from his teammates. But he also had a lot of gravity off the ice, hosting team dinners and playing a role with his wife, Natalie, in organizing team events
“He held so much weight in the room, probably the most I’ve seen on any team I’ve been on,” said Tyler Myers.
How the team reacts without that gravitational force will be telling. Will they fall apart or will this force them to come together?
“I think that’s up to the players. They’re growing in the leadership and it’s my job to create an environment where the players feel safe,” said Allvin. “You’re building the culture, starting with our prospects in Abbotsford and leading up to the big team here. The growth of Quinn Hughes as a captain during my time here has been impressive with how he’s handled different situations.”
Allvin also gave credit to how head coach Rick Tocchet and the coaching staff have handled things this season, then quipped that Tocchet and Adam Foote “in the old days” might have dealt with the team’s off-ice issues “in different ways.”
"Hopefully this will galvanize and make our team better"
Now the pressure is on Elias Pettersson. As the top remaining forward on the team and one of the highest-paid players in the league, it will be on Pettersson to prove he can help lead the Canucks with Miller gone.
“I know that Elias is committed to do the right things, finding his way to play to the level where we all know that he is capable of, and he shows signs of going in the right direction," said Allvin. "I know that he is doing the extra work that is needed, and I hope that he is one of them that's going to continue to carry on the team and lead the team with the right way, playing the right way, and we need his production here moving forward as well.”
Allvin said that he has high expectations for Pettersson.
"Especially when you commit to that kind of contract, my expectation is higher on him than anyone else on our team," said Allvin. "I expect him to meet my expectations, and I expect him to meet his own expectations, and so far, he has not done that. If you talk to him, he's disappointed, but he's aware of it, and I know that he's capable and he will work at it."
Did the two blockbuster trade make the Canucks a better team? That's a tough question to answer. On paper, the subtraction of Miller from the forward group and the addition of Pettersson on defence at least makes the Canucks different.
“I think this team has shown, when we're playing in the right way and playing to our identity, that we're a hard team to play against,” said Allvin. “Hopefully, this will galvanize and make our team better.”
