Canucks Star Player Close to Demanding Trade Out of Toxic Locker Room

Vancouver Canucks stars Elias Pettersson and JT Miller have a very public rift between them, and now reports are surfacing that one player could force the team to make a decision.

Captain Quinn Hughes and Coach Rick Tocchet both admitted that there was differences between Miller and Pettersson last night, but in a contradicting statement, Pettersson said none of it is true – and Miller declined to speak.

Now, Patrick Johnson of the Province believes that this rift may be beyond fixing and instead is hurting the team, and also that one player could force the team into a move.

»It’s hard to see this carrying on at this point. If one or both of these players has said to management «me or him,» it would not be a surprise.

– Patrick Johnson, The Province

With such clear differences between two leaders on the team, publicly fighting through the media, and contradicting stories coming from other players – it’s hard to see a path to fixing this. One player may have to go.

Vancouver Canucks May Be Close to Trading JT Miller or Elias Pettersson

Choosing between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller obviously isn’t ideal for the Canucks, as regardless of the choice, they’ll lose a key player in their lineup and identity.

JT Miller is the more likely player to be traded because he’s 5 years old and on a shorter term, lower salary deal.

However, Miller is an emotional player and a physical driver of play for the Canucks, who scored 103 points last season. Losing him would entirely shift the identity of the team, but there’s also real questions about his effort levels, even called out by Tocchet,

On the other hand, Elias Pettersson is the younger, more skilled player. That said, this situation and Pettersson’s defiance in the media last night have apparently caused doubt about him, and the Canucks could move him before his 8 year contract extension kicks in.

»Trading Pettersson is a tricky thing to do. He’s on a big contract, there are real questions about how he’s handling himself, and there are internal questions about how he prepares himself for the season. Can he be the player that matches the contract?«

– Patrick Johnson

No matter what the outcome is for the Canucks, it’s truly shocking that their locker room has imploded to the point of moving a star player.