J.T. Miller can laugh about the Canucks mess now, even if the details around it still feel murky.
The former Vancouver forward was back in the spotlight recently on Spittin’ Chiclets’ “Sandbagger Scramble,” where he teamed up with Vincent Trocheck and Mark Pysyk for a round of golf against Paul Bissonnette, Ryan Whitney and Keith Yandle. The conversation didn’t take long to veer toward Elias Pettersson, the feud that dominated the Canucks’ 2024-25 season and ultimately ended with Miller being dealt to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31, 2025.
Bissonnette tossed out a jab while Miller was mid-swing.
“I’m getting bullied more than Petey on the Canucks,” Bissonnette said while Miller was in the middle of a swing.
Miller’s response came fast.
“In my backswing is crazy,” Miller said about the timing of Bissonnette’s chirp.
“That was so dirty,” Trocheck said.
“Petey in my backswing is crazy,” Miller said.
Then he pushed it even further, and the room broke up.
“I went to rehab for that,” Miller added, which caused everyone to burst into laughter. “Dude, they had no minibar.”
The exchange was funny on its face, but it also landed with a weird little edge to it. Miller and Pettersson never really laid out what happened between them, and that silence has left the story half-told. Pettersson sidestepped questions right after the trade, while Miller described the whole year as “exhausting” and “a year I’d like to forget about.”
There’s still one stretch in particular that continues to hang over all of it: Miller’s 10-game leave of absence in November of 2024 for personal reasons. The Canucks told the media not to ask about it out of respect for Miller, and the clearest public explanation came 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, it was reported that the absence wasn’t substance- or alcohol-related. Even so, the speculation didn’t slow down. Online rumors kept swirling about why Miller stepped away and whether a trade was coming.
That’s when Jim Rutherford jumped in to shut down the noise.
“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 weren’t moving Miller. Eight weeks later, they did.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuk Just Gave Canucks Fans A Hilarious Reason To React
Brady Tkachuk is used to getting a frosty reception north of the border, and on a recent podcast with his brother Matthew, the Panthers forward leaned into it while talking about the Canadian cities where he says hes been booed. For Canucks fans, the amusing part came when Tkachuk lumped Seattle into that list, a slip that immediately made the story feel a little less like another chapter in the old Ottawa villain routine and a little more like a hockey brothers off-the-cuff memory.
It is the kind of detail that lands because Tkachuk has long been one of the leagues most recognizable agitators, first with the Senators and now in Florida after a trade that brought multiple draft picks back to Ottawa. The Vancouver angle is simple enough: a player with a reputation for drawing boos managed to give the fan base one more reason to smirk, even if the line was probably meant for a different audience entirely. [Read more 🡒]
Which Canucks Legend Deserves The Next Ring Of Honour Spot
The Canucks Ring of Honour has become one of the clearest ways the franchise celebrates the players who helped shape its identity, and the next name in line is starting to feel like a meaningful debate. Alex Edler and Kevin Bieksa both fit the spirit of that recognition in different ways, with long careers in Vancouver, leadership roles in the room and enough big moments to remain central to how fans remember an era of the team.
Edlers case only gets stronger with his move into the Canucks Player Development department in July 2026, which keeps him close to the organization even after retirement. Bieksa also left a lasting mark, from his role as a steadying presence on the blue line to the way his retirement was marked, and both players carry the kind of legacy that makes the Ring of Honour conversation feel less like a formality than a true choice about which era the club wants to spotlight next. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Just Added Goalie Insurance As Demko Questions Keep Lingering
With Thatcher Demkos return still an open question heading into camp, the Canucks added some experienced insurance in net by bringing in veteran goalie Chris Driedger on a professional tryout contract. It is the kind of low-risk, practical move teams often make when they want more stability behind the scenes, and in Vancouvers case it gives the club another established option as it sorts out its goaltending picture.
Driedger now joins Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo in the mix, giving the Canucks a deeper camp competition than they had before. The 31-year-old has a career NHL save percentage of .917 and has spent recent time in both the AHL and KHL, which makes him a familiar stopgap if Vancouver needs one, even if the bigger question in net remains tied to Demkos timeline. [Read more 🡒]