Ex-Canucks HC Rick Tocchet reminisces "bad divorce"-like Elias Pettersson-JT Miller feud that resulted in star player's exit

Former Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, on the Donnie and Dhali podcast on Tuesday, spoke about the tension between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller and how it affected the locker room.

Tocchet said that the situation felt like an ugly "divorce,” where no one was really at fault, but things didn’t work out.

"I think we exhausted a lot of things," Tocchet said (3:36). "I said this before, and I meant it in my heart: I don't think there's a bad guy in this. Sometimes people have a bad divorce or something like that. Can the couple do something before that? I don't know. Like Jim said, it hit our team, and it's my job, my responsibility to try to make it work. We tried."

The problems between Pettersson and Miller became clear in October 2024. They had a small fight during practice, and Miller reportedly cross-checked Pettersson and called him a “baby.”

Reports of their rocky relationship grew, and team president Jim Rutherford confirmed that their issues hurt the team’s chemistry. Although both players denied any serious feud, the team atmosphere seemed tense during that period.

Rick Tocchet admitted that he might have handled the conflict differently, maybe earlier in training camp. He said that they tried to make it work, but it just didn’t come together.

"I probably could have did some different things, maybe got to it a bit earlier, maybe in training camp," Tocchet said. "There might have been some bumps and bruises early if I dug my heels in the sand a little bit. Maybe I could have done that.

"Then maybe could have come to a decision a lot quicker. I don't know. There's a lot of what-ifs. I really think a lot of guys tried, though. A lot of people tried."

In January, the Canucks traded Miller to the New York Rangers, after the situation had become uncomfortable for the team. But despite Miller's departure, the team's struggles continued, as they failed to make the playoffs.

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Rick Tocchet's comments after joining the Philadelphia Flyers

Rick Tocchet left the Canucks after the 2024-25 season. The team said that he chose not to return as coach. Rutherford said that they did everything to keep him, but Tocchet decided that it was time for a change.

“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said (via NHL.com).

Tocchet later joined the Philadelphia Flyers as their new coach after former coach John Tortorella was fired.

"I’ve always been a Flyer at heart ...” Tocchet said after joining Flyers (via NHL.com). "I want to thank Danny Briere, Keith Jones and Dan Hilferty for this honor and opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited to lead this team back among the NHL elite where we belong.

Rick Tocchet now aims to win the Stanley Cup with the Philadelphia Flyers, something he had failed to accomplish as a player.