J.T. Miller is far enough removed from his Canucks exit now that he can laugh at the mess - at least a little.
That wasn’t the case when the whole thing was still tearing through Vancouver. The 2024-25 season for the Canucks was defined by the feud between Miller and Elias Pettersson, a situation that helped derail the club’s short-lived Stanley Cup hopes and eventually ended with Miller being dealt to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31, 2025.
For a long stretch, neither side said much about what went on. Pettersson sidestepped questions right after the trade. Miller, for his part, later described the year as “exhausting” and “a year I’d like to forget about.”
But on a recent appearance on Spittin’ Chiclets’ “Sandbagger Scramble” show, Miller showed a different side. He was out on the course with hosts Paul Bissonnette, Ryan Whitney and Keith Yandle, along with Vincent Trocheck and Mark Pysyk, when the conversation veered straight into the Canucks drama.
Bissonnette didn’t waste time.
“I’m getting bullied more than Petey on the Canucks,” Bissonnette said while Miller was in the middle of a swing.
Miller’s answer came immediately.
“In my backswing is crazy,” Miller said about the timing of Bissonnette’s chirp.
“That was so dirty,” Trocheck said.
Miller kept it going.
“Petey in my backswing is crazy,” Miller said.
Then came the line that got everyone laughing.
“I went to rehab for that,” Miller added, which caused everyone to burst into laughter. “Dude, they had no minibar.”
The joke landed as a strange little window into a situation that still feels unfinished. Miller’s 10-game leave of absence in November 2024 remains one of the biggest unanswered pieces of the story. The Canucks told the media not to ask about it out of respect for Miller, and the clearest explanation that ever surfaced was from former GM Patrik Allvin, who said Miller was “seeking help.”
“First and foremost, I’m very proud of J.T. seeking help,” Allvin said almost one week after Miller’s mysterious departure.
“I believe that he’s going to be a better person, better teammate and better hockey player when he returns.”
At the time, reports said the absence was not related to substance or alcohol issues, but that did little to quiet the speculation. With so few details available, rumors spread quickly online about why Miller was away and whether a trade was coming.
That’s when Jim Rutherford publicly pushed back.
“Don’t start making stuff up about someone in his situation. That’s disrespectful,” he said back on Dec.
4, 2024. “People that do this for fun, or for a living, just go back to making up trade rumours.”
Rutherford also said the Canucks were not trading Miller.
Eight weeks later, they did.
In Other News...
Canucks Have An Underdog Forward Worth Watching Closely In Camp
Trey Fix-Wolansky is the kind of training-camp name that usually forces its way into the conversation by sheer persistence, and the Canucks are at least giving him that chance. Signed to a one-year deal, the 5-foot-7 forward arrives with prior NHL experience from his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, plus a track record of putting up offense in the AHL that makes him more than just a feel-good camp story.
Brendan Gaunce, who knows the organization well from his own time in Vancouver, pointed to Fix-Wolanskys competitive edge and scoring touch as traits worth paying attention to. For a Canucks roster that still has spots to sort out, a player with that mix of energy and production can complicate things in a good way, even if the challenge ahead is the obvious one: proving he can carry those habits into a full NHL role. [Read more 🡒]
Henrik Sedin Just Framed The Canucks Rebuild Fans Fear Most
Henrik Sedin put some real shape around the Canucks reset this week, and the part that stands out most is how measured he sounded about the timeline. The co-president said the rebuild should probably be shorter than 10 years, but also made clear it is hard to pin down exactly how long it will take. For a fan base that has seen enough false starts, the message was less about quick fixes and more about laying the kind of foundation that can actually last.
Sedin stressed that Vancouver wants to build from the draft and develop a core that drives each other every day, with no sense of urgency from management or ownership to skip steps. In other words, this is not about patching holes and pretending the roster is close. It is about starting over with younger players and trusting the process long enough for the group to take shape, even if the finish line is still hazy. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans May Not Realize How Much Of Last Year's Team Is Gone
By the time training camp opened in 2025, the Canucks were already looking like a very different group, and the turnover has only kept going from there. Since then, 24 players from last years organization have moved on, a list that includes familiar names like Quinn Hughes, Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander, along with a long list of supporting pieces who helped shape the rosters identity.
In their place, Vancouver has started piecing together a new look for the 2026-27 season, adding players such as Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi and Liam hgren. The full shuffle is a reminder that what fans remember as last years team can disappear quickly in the NHL, and the Canucks are now in the middle of sorting out how much of that old core can still be recognized when the next season finally begins. [Read more 🡒]