NHL News: Rick Tocchet breaks silence on Elias Pettersson-J.T. Miller rift in Vancouver with bold statement

In one of the biggest signings in the NHL coaching carousel, the Philadelphia Flyers hired Rick Tocchet to their head coaching vacancy ahead of the 2025-26 season. After arriving in The City of Brotherly Love, Tocchet voiced an honest admission on his departure from the Vancouver Canucks, where the locker room rift between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson stole the spotlight throughout the last season.

The Canucks intended to extend Tocchet’s tenure, yet they weren’t willing to commit to a long-term deal and the head coach ultimately looked elsewhere, joining the Flyers in Philly. As a result, Adam Foote now takes over as head coach of a team led by Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes—two stars hungry for glory after a dramatic year of emotional rollercoasters and unmet expectations in the NHL.

Pettersson and Miller went from teammates to, arguably, enemies over the past season—or at least, this was the year things truly spiraled out of control, leaving the Canucks with no choice but to trade Miller back to the New York Rangers.

While fans and media were quick to aim at each individual in particular, hoping to find a culprit for the rift that seemingly doomed any hope for Vancouver, who is still missing a Stanley Cup in their trophy cabinet.Now, Tocchet voiced his own point of view, making a very clear statement about the controversial episode.

Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame inductee Rick Tocchet delivers an induction speech before a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Calgary Flames at Wells Fargo Center on November 16, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“In that situation, I think we exhausted a lot of things. I said this before and I meant it with my heart: I don’t think there’s a bad guy in this,” Tocchet said during an appearance on the Donnie and Dhali podcast. “I don’t know [if I could’ve done things differently]. It hit our team and it’s my job, my responsibility to try to make it work and we tried. Maybe [I could have] got into it a bit earlier.

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“There might have been a bit of bumps and bruises early if I had dug my heels in the sand a little bit. Maybe I could’ve done that, and maybe we could’ve come to a decision a lot quicker. I don’t know, there’s a lot of what-ifs. I really think a lot of people tried, though.“

No turning back

While his last year in Vancouver was marked by inconsistency and drama in almost daily fashion, Tocchet still keeps a fond memory of his time with the Canucks. Though it ended in disappointment, Tocchet doesn’t forget about the team that helped him win a Jack Adams Award in the 2023-24 NHL season.

“Things went well. The Jack Adams is a team award, I owe a lot of people credit for that. Going into [last year], I thought we were dialed in,” Tocchet added. “We were still pretty good, and then obviously some things hit us and we couldn’t regain the momentum we had last year. We couldn’t gain traction. So yeah, I thought I would be in Vancouver for a longer time [after winning the award].”

J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks looks on prior to the game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on January 29, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rink-less

One of the most controversial aspects within the Canucks’ organization is the fact the franchise doesn’t have a training facility, and therefore practice at the University of British Columbia campus or rent ice time at Rogers Arena, depending on availability. Asked about whether that played a role in his decision to walk out of the franchise, Tocchet made a firm comment.

“I’d be lying if it wasn’t [a factor],” Tocchet said about the Canucks missing a team practice facility. “It’s not that bad in Vancouver, the [University of British Columbia] is nice, it’s not horrible. But I will say the Flyers’ facility is a state-of-the-art…it’s a nice tool for a coach, it really is.”