Jim Rutherford’s bombshell interview appears to have left Vancouver Canucks star forward J.T. Miller speechless — at least with the media.
Miller was asked on Wednesday for his reaction to Rutherford’s comments in which the Canucks president confirmed a rift between the American forward and teammate Elias Pettersson.
“I don’t have one,” Miller said.
Two follow-up inquiries were also answered with no comments from Miller.
Trade rumours have followed Miller through much of the season as word of an issue with Pettersson was reported. Meanwhile, the Canucks have struggled to stay in the playoff race one year after winning the Pacific Division.
Rutherford’s comments to The Globe and Mail may have only enflamed the smoke around Miller and Pettersson ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
“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, the B.C. columnist for The Globe. “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.
“We’re talking about two of our top players, 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 return to action in Nashville against the Predators on Wednesday, where they will look to win a third straight game.
