Now with new teams, fresh details have come to the surface about what really went wrong between former Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller and head coach Rick Tocchet that led to some tension within the locker room.
It was a well known fact that Miller had a very public feud with teammate Elias Pettersson which ultimately got him traded to the New York Rangers halfway through the 2024-25 season, but there is some evidence to conclude that it may be more due to his strained relationship with the head coach.
Former Vancouver Canucks head coach (Rick Tocchet) and forward (J.T. Miller) did not agree on how the team should be handled
Although there were rumblings of issues between Rick Tocchet and J.T. Miller, their feud was kept more quiet then the one with Pettersson, but it did indeed play a major role in his departure to the Big Apple.
Reports indicate that the two "Alpha Males" of the Canucks did not see eye on a lot of issues the Vancouver Canucks were facing, especially the way in which the team should be led.
Multiple sources, including TSN's Farhan Lalji confirmed that a heated confrontation between Miller and Tocchet was the reason for the leave of absence. It evens sounds if it was a team decision to "suspend" or give time off to the forward.
Farhan on Miller: "What we understand was a confrontation (not physical) after this one game when he got benched and then the next day the organization announced he was going to take a personal leave." (TSN 1200)
Now, some new information has come to light that doubles down on the fact that the two personalities were not going to work in the long run.
They were never quite pulling in the same direction. Tocchet wanted discipline. Miller brought passion-sometimes a little too much of it. Defensive lapses, sideline blow-ups, heated exchanges with teammates it all started to feel like his style was clashing with Tocchet's message. You could see it on the bench during games. Miller had pivoted away from the ice and engaged in mid-game «conversations» with his head coach. - The Hockey Writers
With it all being said and done, both Miller and Tocchet are no longer with the Canucks and with their new head coach Adam Foote and captain Quinn Hughes leading the way, you can expect a very different season in 2025-26.