The Vancouver Canucks moved on from J.T. Miller following a fallout in the locker room during the 2024-25 season.
It’s noted that Miller and Canucks forward Elias Pettersson specifically did not see eye to eye. There was an on-and-off-ice rift between the former teammates.
Miller was recently on the Spittin Chiclets podcast out on a golf course. There, he hinted that during his feud in the Canucks locker room he attended rehab.
The former Canucks forward took time away from the team. He missed 10 games from November to December before being traded to New York.
During one of Miller’s backswings, Paul Bissonnette chirped the New York Rangers captain to try and throw him off his game.
“Getting bullied more than Petey on the Canucks,” Bissonnette said.
Miller went on to drive the ball straight down the fairway and fired back at Bissonnette.
“It doesn’t need to be edited out, but Petey in my backswing is crazy. I went to rehab for that,” Miller said to all in attendance.
Unraveling Miller’s Departure from Vancouver
It’s not known exactly why or where Miller went before he was traded away from the Canucks.
During his leave of absence, the Canucks said Miller was gone for personal reasons. They also said that the whole organization would support him.
Head coach at the time, Rick Tocchet, did not reveal how Miller came about the timing of his leave from the team. Also, it’s not known whether the team approached Miller about taking that action.
The player himself opted for that timeframe. It could’ve been based solely on what Miller knew he needed in the moment.
According to a report from The Province’s Patrick Johnston, there was one specific reason Miller opted to take time for himself.
Johnston wrote: “A source did acknowledge to Postmedia at the time that Miller was not seeking treatment for substance or alcohol abuse, simply that he was getting a chance to reset himself mentally, that he’d been playing poorly and this had been weighing on him.”
Johnston continued to write that Miller had been playing poorly in part because of dealing with some sort of injury to his neck or upper back.
In the end, Miller did not go to the NHLPA and ask for assistance. NHL players have done so in the past. Instead, he went his own way and did what was best at the time.
Animosity between Pettersson and Miller
After Miller came back from his leave, he eventually played in his final game as a Canuck in Nashville on January 29, 2025.
Before the puck dropped that night, Miller addressed the rift with a local reporter in Nashville. The reporter asked him about his relationship with Pettersson.
“I don’t have one. I’m not commenting on any of that, Miller said candidly.
That question was specifically manufactured in response to Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford’s comments about the discourse between Miller and Pettersson.
Both parties had tried to work on the relationship. However, Rutherford didn’t think the strain of trying to resolve the issue was worth it in the long run.
“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,” Rutherford said.
After settling in New York, Miller was later named the captain of the Rangers in 2025 and has put that chapter of his career behind him.
He and the Rangers are poised to bounce back in 2026-27 after missing the postseason for the last two years.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
J.T. Miller hints at rehab amid fallout in Vancouver