Rutherford reveals the truth: Vancouver Canucks are a gong show

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The Vancouver Canucks are on a mini-winning streak, but that’s not what has everyone talking. After Canucks president Jim Rutherford’s announcement everyone has something to say on the Canucks, both their past and the future.

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“It just seems like there is something always going on there, whether it was Bo Horvat and his contract and he gets traded, Thatcher Demko’s injury situation is a kind of mystery and now this simmering for over a year now, and Bruce Boudreau how he got let go … it just seems like there is something always going on,” says former Canuck Cory Schneider on TSN who had his own personal soap opera when he and Roberto Luongo were vying for the number one spot.

“It’s like they finally get it right; get Tocchet in there, have a great season, they almost win the President’s Trophy, they take Edmonton to the brink and then all of a sudden it’s back to a gong show. Like what is it about the market that has to happen?” asks former Leaf and Hurricane and now TSN analyst Jeff O’Neill (has anyone found his World Junior Gold Medal at the Roxy yet?).

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Speaking of Horvat, remember THAT soap opera (that also centred around Miller), the Hockey News looks back at who won that trade.

“In what was GM Patrik Allvin’s first major move with the organization, the Canucks traded Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty and a 2023 conditional first-round pick. Fast forward two years later, there is still a debate on this trade and whether or not Vancouver moved the right player.

“Before talking about the present, we need to look back on the circumstances surrounding this trade. Heading into the 2023 trade deadline, it was clear the Canucks were going to make a significant move and were exploring deals surrounding Horvat and J.T. Miller. While Horvat was headed for unrestricted free agency, Miller had re-signed with the organization during the 2022 off-season, but his new contract didn’t kick in until the 2023-24 campaign.

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“Signing Miller over Horvat was already a controversial decision. Horvat had been with the organization his entire career and was the team captain. Despite this, management felt that Miller was more valuable in the long term, electing to sign the former New York Rangers centre to a seven-year, $56 million contract.

“At the moment, the only part of this trade left in the organization from this Räty. Beauvillier was traded less than a year later to the Chicago Blackhawks, while the first-round pick was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in the Filip Hronek trade. In short, Vancouver used Horvat to get a young centre in Räty, a top-two defenceman in Hronek, and a few prospects who were selected in the last two drafts. From an asset perspective, this is a positive return for the Canucks only because they were able to flip the pick for Hronek. While Räty has a lot of potential, he hasn’t become a full-time NHLer, while Horvat has already recorded 122 points in 159 games with his new team. While he is still a young player with a long career ahead of him, Vancouver will not have won the trade from an asset perspective unless Räty can start producing in the NHL.”

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But this Hockey News piece also gets into the locker room shrapnel left from the Horvat trade.

“The other part of this trade that needs to be examined is the impact it had on the locker room. According to multiple interviews, including one by Jim Rutherford, there has been a rift between Miller and Elias Pettersson for years. This rift even extended to Horvat, who, based on accounts from media members and people in the locker room, would butt heads with Miller from a leadership perspective.

“While it is a fair guess by management at the time that a Miller-Pettersson rift would have been solved by now, the fact of the matter is it hasn’t. This rift has blown up publicly and is now being pointed to as one of the reasons the Canucks have struggled this season. Locker room chemistry always needs to be considered when determining which team won a trade. Bringing in the right player or trading the wrong one can mess with chemistry and eventually result in turmoil surrounding the organization. In the case of the Horvat trade, Vancouver clearly made the wrong decision, as the locker room issues remain two years later. Based on what has happened over the last two years, it is easy to say that the Canucks made the wrong decision in trading Horvat. Despite the organization having success over the past two years, which includes a trip to Game 7 of the second round last season, they are back to where they started and could be on the verge of multiple significant trades. ”

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Most agree this is a circus, right? So, let’s hear from the clown then! Don Cherry had his very predictable take on the Canucks.

“Nobody would want him,” he said of Elias Pettersson. “He had one good year.”

Cherry continued by saying that “he should go to Buffalo” after learning of the most recent potential Pettersson trade proposal. Cherry’s son, Tim, added on by claiming that both Pettersson and J.T. Miller should “go home” to fix the reported rift between them.

“That’s the only way,” the Cherry patriarch echoed his son’s comments about how to remedy the “rift.” He and his son proceeded to talk about how the old Boston Bruins wouldn’t “put up with that.”

“I wouldn’t put up with Pettersson,” he said.

Canucks GM warned Pettersson to grow up

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On The Chris Johnston show Johnston said: “Elias Pettersson has to own his part of this … He has to understand that just because he’s very different from J.T. Miller doesn’t mean J.T. Miller is bad or wrong. Anyone who knows J.T. will say, ‘ He is driven to win. He is a very competitive guy. He demands a lot of himself. He demands a lot of the people around him.’ Those are some of the best characteristics we associate with some of the best leaders or anyone who has played this sport.

“And look the organization has said this … Patrik Allvin did an interview where he said: ‘We want Elias Pettersson to mature. That’s kind of saying it without saying it. That’s saying he has to grow up and learn how to deal with conflict and things not going his way maybe not everyone thinking the sun shines out of his butt.”

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Former Coach Bruce Boudreau on J.T. Miller

“Me and J.T. had some talks about him being the sword a little too often. He’s very hot tempered but at the same time, every party was organized by him. Every thing that was going on at the house (at his) was going on at his house, his kids were always first and foremost, all of those things.

“But when it gets into a game. There’s not too many people I’ve ever seen who want the right outcome more than him. And sometimes when that’s not going as well as it should it sort of gets bottled up and all of the sudden the explosion comes,” said Boudreau on the Daily Faceoff

Canucks blowing up the core — but who first?

By Harman Dayal and Shayna Goldman for the Athletic “If the Canucks can only keep one of Pettersson or Miller, the answer should be to trade Miller and keep Pettersson. Miller turns 32 in March and is signed to a contract that spans five years beyond this season. He may not have many years of elite production left whereas Pettersson, 26, is in the middle of his prime.”

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Ray Ferraro on when the trade happens

“Was any of that really surprising to anybody? Or was it just surprising that Jim said it. If the return sucks I’m assuming by the article that they gonna wait until summer or wait closer to the deadline when someone gets more urgent. It’s not an enviable position by any means. It’s just whether it’s now, the deadline or June.”

Happy Valley

If you have an Athletic subscription you can read about the NHL’s winner and losers but here’s what they have to say about the Canucks and the work they did last summer on the roster:

“Winner: Vancouver Canucks — Finally solved their locker room problems by letting Elias Lindholm leave in free agency, at least assuming that what’s J.T. Miller’s “I HATE ELIAS” chest tattoo was referring to.”

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Trade Trackers

ESPN reports that the Canucks are constantly in detailed trade talks but just haven’t got a deal over the line.

“The New York Rangers continue to aggressively try to reshape their roster. They nearly completed a trade for Miller with the Canucks in recent weeks, with centre Filip Chytil as the centrepiece. But salary retention and draft pick conditions were reported sticking points. If they’re able to create the necessary space — moving out a veteran like Chris Kreider or Mika Zibanejad — Rantanen is the kind of shiny new toy the franchise finds hard to resist. Consider also that winger Artemi Panarin will be in the last year of his contract in 2025-26 at an $11,642,857 AAV.”

Are the Canucks a contender?

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Craig Button told Gino Reda on TSN: “I don’t think they are close to being a Stanley Cup contender, so I think you are going to make a trade with the idea of to put yourself in a Stanley Cup contending place it’s not there. The players you are going to get in return in my view are not going to be players who come in and immediately help your team as a Stanley Cup contender. As Jim Rutherford said and every one knows J.T. Miller and Ellias Petterson are their best two players.”

Dom Luszczyszyn, a national NHL writer for The Athletic, wrote “Analyzing the West’s Stanley Cup contenders: Signature strengths and fatal flaws.” I checked it three times in case I missed it: Oilers, Jets, Kings, Golden Knights, Stars, Avalanche, the Canucks are not considered contenders.

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Sports Illustrated has a potential trade for Pettersson on the cards with Columbus entering the chat.

“The Vancouver Canucks have seen plenty of teams come forward and inquire about a trade for one of their feuding star forwards, but no move has been made after multiple months. While the Canucks continue to remain patient and wait for the right deal, a new surprising team has emerged as a candidate for Elias Pettersson.

“Pierre LeBrun noted it’s a bit too early to say the Columbus Blue Jackets are front runners for Pettersson, but they are definitely interested in what the Canucks are selling.

‘Certainly, a team to talk about would be the Columbus Blue Jackets,” LeBrun said on Insider Trading. “It’s not surprising because they’ve got massive salary cap space.’

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“The Blue Jackets have the most salary cap space of any team in the NHL and were even given special exemption heading into the 2024-25 season. With the untimely loss of Johnny Gaudreau, the NHL allowed the Blue Jackets to enter the season under the $65 million salary cap floor.

“At this moment, the Blue Jackets have a total cap hit of $69,251,059, well below the $88 million cap ceiling. They would have no problem adding Pettersson’s $11.6 million average annual value, and that is apparently their main target from Vancouver.

The Canucks have made it clear they are not willing to entertain lowball offers on either Miller or Pettersson, but teams like the Blue Jackets are looking for a deal that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

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‘I think for Columbus, it’s same question as a lot of other teams that have talked to Vancouver have’ LeBrun said. ‘Who is Elias Pettersson right now? Teams are waiting to see if the Canucks bring their asking price down on either player.’”

Net loss

In non-toddler tantrum related news, the Hockey News looks at Thatcher Demko.

“With all the noise surrounding the Vancouver Canucks, one storyline that has been overlooked is the play of Thatcher Demko. A Vezina finalist last season, Demko has struggled in 2024-25 and is on pace to finish with a save percentage below .900 for the first time since 2017-18, when he played only one game. With only 33 games left in the regular season, the Canucks need Demko to find his game if they have eyes on a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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“While Demko’s sample size is small, there are some concerning trends. His mid-range save percentage has dropped significantly, and he has only posted a save percentage above .900 in four of his 12 games. Below is a look at some of Demko’s NHL EDGE stats from this year compared to last season. As of Jan. 29, 2025, Demko was below the 50th percentile in all five categories, while last season, he ranked above the 90th percentile in save percentage and high-danger save percentage. Ultimately, based on NHL EDGE’s tracking, Demko is struggling, with his statistics being closer to most backups than the elite goaltenders in the league. ”

Power Rankings 

ESPN pushed the Canucks up three spots on their power rankings, from 20 to 17, but guess what they focused on?

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“The well-reported locker room strife between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller was confirmed by general manager Jim Rutherford this week, lending more credence to the idea that one of the two stars will be traded. Hopefully that will spur the team to earn more wins, as a month of .500 hockey isn’t a great sign looking ahead.”

The Athletic has the Canucks in the middle tier rising seven spots to 16th.

“Two options regarding the Canucks; you can either talk about the staggeringly great work we’re seeing from Quinn Hughes, or you can talk about everything else. We’re going with Option A. He’s a defenceman who leads his team in points — by 23; he’s either scored or assisted on 16 of the Canucks’ last 27 goals; he’s on pace to out-produce his brother. Give him the Norris. Give him the Hart, maybe.”

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In The Hockey News weekly rankings, the Canucks remain at 21. “It’s really difficult to get a good read on this team because outside of Quinn Hughes — who’s making a strong case for the Hart Trophy — their top players are rarely their top players. A talented bunch, for sure, but until their game plan is clearer — will they trade Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller or both or neither? — it’s a directionless team that’s kinda, sorta in the playoff race. The two wins against the Capitals and Blues were either a tease or the start of something good,” writes Jason Chen.

The Bleacher Report has the Canucks ranked 19th. “It’s one thing to navigate a rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, but it’s an entirely different thing to suggest team captain and Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes could be out, too, if a total rebuild is in order. But that’s what hockey operations boss Jim Rutherford told Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail (h/t The Hockey News) amid a 4-5-1 run that leaves the team below the Western cutline.”

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TSN has the Vancouver Canucks down one spot from 26th to 27th. Caveat: This was before the three game win. streak.

“Aside from the off-ice drama that continues to follow the team, Vancouver’s lack of offence is one of the biggest talking points. Since the start of January, no team is averaging fewer goals per game — 1.83 — than the Canucks. Vancouver is just three points back of the final wild-card spot in the West but our model doesn’t like their chances to make the playoffs this season.”

Sportsnet have the Canucks ranked 19th, but have a WTF comment on the team on Hughes. Their word “could” here seems to be out of place as Hughes is having an outstanding season and the race for Norris shouldn’t be close.

“5-foot-10 Quinn Hughes could be on the poster for what’s possible with a smaller frame in the NHL today. He could be a significant Hart Trophy contender this season. ”

Ray Ferraro on the Canucks 3 game win streak

Here’s what Ray Ferraro told Donnie and Dhali: “For three games it’s looked a lot like last year. They’ve been aggressive to the puck. They’ve been up the ice. They have not spent time … They defend but the pucks stays most of the time to a manageable place. They are not hanging on by their finger nails. It looks a lot like it was supposed to look.”

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