The Clock is Ticking on When J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson Will Be Traded
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Morning Skate with Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick and was asked about the Vancouver Canucks situation involving J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson and why the situation got to where Jim Rutherford, President of Hockey Operations, said there was no solution inside the room. It is time to move one of these players out.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: It Doesn’t Look Like the Situation Will Get Any Better for the Vancouver Canucks
Scott Laughlin: “Friedge, no doubt; yesterday, you saw the comments made by Jim Rutherford with regard to their situation, namely, Miller and EP 40. And I was amazed that he was as upfront and honest as he was, but maybe I shouldn’t be amazed, because everybody knows that the genie is out of the bottle. Everybody knows that there’s a problem out there. He’s acknowledged that. He says it’s impacted the team. It’s still Friedge seems like just a matter of time before that shoe drops. And whether it’s Miller or whether it’s Pettersson, somebody’s going to have to go and I guess the only question is now, is when?”
Elliotte Friedman: “Yes, I think I’ve learned over the years that not to be surprised by anything Jim Rutherford does. He’s blunt. He’s unafraid. When that interview dropped, I was like, ‘All right, he’s laying it all out for us.’ And so in my experience, Scotty, when a manager or a team who does an interview like that, they are preparing people for the inevitable. And that’s to me what that interview is.
It’s Jim Rutherford coming out and saying, everybody who’s a Canuck fan or everybody in Vancouver should be prepared for this, but this is what’s happening and why. And so one of the other things, the reason that this (Mikko) Rantanen deal happened at this particular time is that Vancouver had a potential trade in place with, with Petterson and Carolina, and they needed to know if it was going to happen.
And so Carolina was in decision mode too, and they were ready to, they were telling, they’re telling everybody, ‘Hey, this could occur.’ And look, (J.T.) Miller could have been traded once before too. They had a package done with the Rangers. I think it was (Filip) Chytil, a pick and a prospect, and that one, I think, fell apart over retention. So they’ve been closed twice on these guys. Now, close doesn’t get it done. You actually need to close the deal.
NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks Still Want to Move J.T. Miller But How Soon Will It Be?
But I think it’s very real. And obviously, it’s very real. And the one thing I really think that pushed it to this point is that everybody around them is tired of dealing with it. Now, I will concede that it bothers some people more than others. There was one player in Vancouver who this year, through his agent, reached out to me and said, the stuff you’re talking about, it’s not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be. And I was like, well, that’s not what I’m hearing from some other people.
But what it says to me is that different people handle it differently, but I think that in Vancouver’s case, I think the coaches and some of the top players have said, finally said, ‘enough is enough.’ And that’s what’s pushed them in this direction.
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