Vancouver Canucks' DeBrusk opens up on the fall out between Pettersson and Miller
Jake DeBrusk’s first season with the Vancouver Canucks was an unusual one, to say the least.
DeBrusk lived up to expectations after signing a seven-year deal in Vancouver a year ago, as he scored a career-high 28 goals in 82 games. Unfortunately, his personal play was one of the very few positives for the Canucks in 2024-25.
The Canucks entered the 2024-25 season with high expectations after a breakout performance in 2023-24. Instead, they took a massive step in the wrong direction, missing the playoffs while finishing the season with just 90 points. An even bigger storyline, however, was the feud between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, which eventually led to the latter being traded.
“I have the perfect excuse. I wasn’t there that long,” DeBrusk told Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. “I don’t know what happened in the past.”
Based on other reports, it sounds as though this was a feud that had been brewing for some time, well before DeBrusk arrived in town. For him, the entire situation was unfortunate, as he had formed good relationships with each.
“J.T. had me over for dinner a couple of times, and I love him a lot,” DeBrusk said. “I was sitting beside Petey in the dressing room, and we hung out a lot. It became a thing where I was almost the middleman.”
DeBrusk described the fallout and eventual trade of Miller as “unfortunate”, stating that he wished he could have continued to play with the now New York Rangers forward for a longer time.
After months of speculation, the Canucks traded Miller to the Rangers in late January. The 32-year-old went on to record 13 goals and 35 points in 32 games with his new squad. As for Pettersson, he struggled throughout the majority of the 2024-25 campaign, scoring 15 goals and 45 points in 64 outings.
The positive spin to make of this is that Pettersson can be in a much better mindset going forward, as it has become very evident that the relationship between himself and Miller had gotten toxic. Perhaps with the latter out of the fold, the Swedish centreman can get back to the star-calibre player he’s proven he can be.
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