December hasn't been particularly kind to the Vancouver Canucks so far, with just three wins in 10 games. The most recent setback was on Saturday night at home to the Ottawa Senators, as they lost 5-4 in overtime to their Canadian rivals.
Now we appreciate that statistics can often be manipulated to support an argument. For example, you could also point out that the Canucks have only suffered three regulation losses in the same 10 games, translating to a 3-3-4 record.
Further, that the Canucks remain in a playoff spot as of Sunday morning despite their recent indifferent results, sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference. At the end of the day though, no matter how you want to perceive things, this is a team which is not playing up their potential.
Miller and Pettersson at odds with each other
At the heart of this is an apparent rift in the Canucks locker room, centring around J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. It's always been an open secret that they don't particularly get on well, but the rift seems to be worse than ever this season.
Speculation started to grow, when the duo had a brief but heated scuffle and verbal exchange during practice back in October. At the time, it was passed off as Miller and the Canucks attempting to light a fire under a struggling Pettersson.
However, this was followed by Miller's decision to take an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons last month. When he finally returned in December, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggested the reason for the leave of absence was due to tension with teammates, albeit no names were given.
Since then, further reports of a growing rift between the two alternate captains have emerged. not helped by Canucks coach Rick Tocchet separating them on the power play. In addition, Pettersson thrived during Miller's absence with 15 points in 10 games, but has no points (as well as a -5 rating) in the six contests since his teammate returned.
Pettersson attempts to play down the situation
As you'd expect, the Canucks players and coaches have been doing their best to play down the situation, but plenty of people aren't buying the narrative. Case in point is Pettersson himself.
Following Saturday night's game with the Senators, the Canucks' four-time NHL All-Star was asked by the media about any potential friction between him and Miller. As per Sportsnet, he said:
"That's still going on? Well, it's the same answer. It's good. I don't know why people still try and make (expletive) up."
One of the reporter's asked a follow-up question about if the rumours were distracting, to which Pettersson replied: "Oh my God. Next question." When no more questions were forthcoming, he quickly left.
Now in one respect, we can entirely appreciate why questions about any possible rift would frustrate Pettersson, or indeed anyone on the Canucks team. However, this is not a situation which has been made up, as per comments made by Quinn Hughes, as classy as they were.
Not being embellished but also not beyond repair
To be clear, there is no denying that the media -- sports or otherwise -- can often make a mountain out of a molehill with situations. However, we don't believe that's the case in this scenario, particularly when someone as well-respected and connected as Friedman is reporting about it.
At the same time, and at the risk of sounding contradictory, we also don't believe this is a situation which is out of control/beyond repair. Consider comments made by Daniel Wagner, in an excellent article for Vancouver is Awesome.
As Wagner writes, if the two players can’t even be on the ice together anymore, it stands to reason that the rift must be particularly bad. However, as he notes, Miller and Pettersson have been on the ice at the same time.
It's only been a few shifts, but putting the duo on a line with Brock Boeser, goes against the belief that they can't stand the sight of each other. Wagner goes on to write that it would be strange to put them together on the ice, if things really are that dire.
Now there is still the concern that if this apparent rift continues to get worse, it could threaten to impact the rest of the locker room and ruin a season with so much potential. However, there is also hope, with Friedman advising on Saturday Headlines that the Canucks have asked Miller and Pettersson to resolve their differences.
As has been pointed out by Friedman, Tocchet and others, no one expects or indeed needs the two teammates to be best friends and hang out together. However, we're talking about two alternate captains who are meant to be examples to the rest of the players, and doing their best to remain professional and focus on the bigger picture of team success.
There have been plenty of situations in sports over the years, of teammates not getting on and at times even hating each other, but still managing to enjoy success together. It's up to Miller and Pettersson to prove they can become another example of this, as if not, at some point one of them will need to be moved for the better of the Canucks as a whole.