Rutherford: 'There's not a good solution' to Pettersson-Miller drama
Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford admitted there's no easy way out of the Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller rift that's engulfed the club this season.
"I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved," Rutherford told Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail.
"But it only gets resolved for a short period of time and then it festers again. And so it certainly appears like there's not a good solution that would keep this group together."
The Canucks have been actively talking with teams around the league regarding Miller and Pettersson, who publicly addressed rumors of disliking each other in December. A trade sending Miller to the New York Rangers reportedly fell apart recently, and the Carolina Hurricanes were also trying to acquire the center before they landed Mikko Rantanen last week.
Rutherford conceded that being forced to trade one of Vancouver's star players is likely to set the franchise back.
"We're talking about two of our top players," Rutherford said. "Certainly, our two best forwards. It can really be tough on a franchise - not only present but into the future - when you're planning on peaking this team into a contending team and then you find out that's not going to happen. Or at least it's not going to happen with the group we have now. Then you have to put together a new plan."
The Canucks won the Pacific Division with 109 points last season with Miller (103 points) and Pettersson (89 points) ranking first and third on the team in scoring. Pettersson parlayed his strong campaign into an eight-year, $92.8-million contract extension.
Miller and Pettersson are producing less than a point per game this season, and Vancouver is one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
"When you don't have chemistry, it's hard to be that consistent team because there's too much going on in the room for everybody to concentrate on what they're supposed to do," Rutherford said.
Rutherford was asked if the ongoing drama has impacted the entire team.
"Yes, yup," Rutherford replied.
The Canucks have until the March 7 deadline to orchestrate any trades.