Just when you thought the saga between Vancouver Canucks forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson was over, more information and more insight rose to the surface.
This time, former Canucks forward Brad Richardson, who played parts of three seasons in Vancouver across two stints, came forward with a story of his own, shedding some light on the relationship between Miller and Pettersson.
"I was in the dressing room with those guys. I love J.T. Love him," Richardson said on the "Missin Curfew" podcast. "I even told him, 'Hey, you're too hard on this kid. You're too hard on him. You're saying exactly what I think, but he's a kid, if you're on him, on him, on him, he's going to shut it down.' I told him, like 'Hey, you're going to lose this guy if you keep doing it.' That's what I said to him.
Former Canuck, Brad Richardson who played with both Miller and Pettersson shares some insight into the tension inside the #Canucks locker room #MissinCurfew Ep 350 | @DKNetwork @DKSportsbook | #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/6ZSQvA38MG
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) January 1, 2025
"J.T., he is the man, but there's a lot of tension, and something's going to give. I guarantee you. And I'm not saying you have to love every guy on your team. It helps, but something's going to give there, so, we'll see."
Richardson, 39, is uniquely qualified to speak on the situation, given that he has played with both Miller and Pettersson and in a variety of different NHL locker rooms elsewhere. The former Canucks forward played 869 regular season games across 17 seasons in the NHL for the Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames.
You can take it to the bank that Richardson has encountered hundreds of different players with varying personalities hailing from different walks of life.
Richardson admitted that he agreed with whatever it was Miller was saying to Pettersson back in the 2021-22 season. From his comments, we can glean that Miller perhaps was or is overbearing in the way he communicates criticisms, while Pettersson probably takes those criticisms and Miller's demeanor to heart.
This is the latest example of someone affiliated with the Canucks, who was in the locker room, confirming a disagreement of some kind between Pettersson and Miller. Former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau previously stated he was aware of some kind of issue, but believed it had been squashed before he took the job.
Both Miller and Pettersson denied there was such an issue between them, but with each story that comes out, it seems like less and less of a coincidence.