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When the Vancouver Canucks traded JT Miller to the New York Rangers, it ended a split between the fanbase. However, one NHL insider believes that Canucks winger Quinn Hughes played a pivotal part in Miller being traded.
NHL insider Elliotte Freidman reported his thoughts via X, formerly Twitter, regarding the move.
“I think Hughes really backed Pettersson,” the post reads. “He knew the fanbase was split on this but he felt very strongly that EP could still have a big impact for them. He believed this was a move they had to make and believed in the long run everyone would be better off.”
Without Miller, the Canucks have a 13-11-3 record. With him, They are roughly .500, and that's including their star player Ellias Pettersson. The latter and Miller had a friction that resonated within the fanbase. Plenty were not sure who to split or who would end up being traded.
Now, it's clear that Hughes might've had an impact on Miller being shipped off to New York. Trading away one of the franchise's top players isn't a positive look. However, there is more to the story.
Quinn Hughes could've told the Canucks to trade JT Miller
Pettersson is a soft-spoken player, and Miller is quite the opposite. When the latter arrived in Vancouver, he made his vocality known even at the expense of others.
The two have had their spats with Miller calling out a barrage of teammates for not playing hard enough. Even though both Miller and Pettersson squashed any tension, it reached a new level. This was one where Hughes stepped in.
It appeared that Hughes was ready to back Pettersson at any moment. The latter battled a knee injury that limited his effectiveness in the 2023-24 playoffs.
Still, Pettersson and Miller continued to be a lethal punch. However, that lethality turned on itself during multiple practices. It even got to the point where coach Rick Tocchet put both players on separate power-play units.
As a result, the noise only grew louder until Miller took a leave of absence from the Canucks and missed 10 games. Following that, he was traded.
It's not clear if Hughes was the key reason. However, when the team captain says that someone has to go, then typically, someone has to go.
A new era in Vancouver could commence for the Canucks without Miller. The latter will make his impact on the Rangers and bring a physicality and an edge.
For Pettersson, it could be a sigh of relief and focus back on hockey and being the effective player he has been.
