"Personality and mindset has changed": Elliotte Friedman offers blunt take on J.T. Miller-less Vancouver Canucks

Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman shared his blunt take on the changed atmosphere around the Vancouver Canucks after the departure of star forward J.T. Miller. The Canucks traded Miller to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31.

The trade came after months of speculation and rumors of a rift between Miller and Canucks center Elias Pettersson. Miller, who took a leave of absence from the team in November 2024 for personal reasons, has never publicly confirmed his feud with Pettersson, but seems to be much happier in New York, according to insiders.

Friedman weighed in about the negative impact of Miller’s exit during Monday’s edition of his “32 Thoughts” podcast.

“Whether you like Miller or you don't like Miller, whatever your opinion is, the fabric of the team has changed without him there. The personality and the mindset has changed without him there,” Friedman said.

“Hughes, he has done everything he could this year, everything. And I don't know, I just think the loss of Miller has changed the mental makeup of the team.”

The Canucks locker room had been boiling over with drama and unrest in the first half of the season. Things got so bad at one point that Vancouver’s director of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said the franchise was open to parting ways with captain Quinn Hughes if it meant settling the team down. In an interview with The Globe and Mail on Jan. 28, Rutherford said:

“If we were going to completely start over that means he (Hughes) goes. And we’d like to figure out a way that he’s here forever.”

Elliotte Friedman questions how Vancouver Canucks are going to replace J.T. Miller

During his discussion about the Canucks, Elliotte Friedman speculated about the franchise’s possible next steps and rhetorically asked how they were going to fill the gap in their roster left by J.T. Miller.

“It's got to be tough for them. I just think, if you're Vancouver, you're sitting here and you're saying, How can we get the personality of our team back to where it was last season?” Friedman asked. “And the guy who, in a lot of ways, kind of epitomized that.

“And look, I feel very strongly that it was time. Miller had to go. He knew it. They knew it. It was better for him … But how are they going to replace that?"

Miller was in his sixth season with the Vancouver Canucks when he left. He had signed a seven-year, $56-million contract with the franchise in September 2022.