New York Rangers captain JT Miller is looking forward to an exciting night as he returns to Vancouver for the first time since the Canucks traded him last season, but neither he nor Elias Pettersson want to discuss their personal feud before Tuesday's game that necessitated the trade.
“Everything happens. You can't go back and change anything,” Miller said. “Sometimes it ends up being ugly, but I think for most of my time here, it's been a positive. I'm not going to sit here and dwell on how it ended. I didn't expect it to be beautiful. It wasn't.”
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Miller spent six seasons in Vancouver, where he had the best offensive years of his career (437 points in 404 games), and signed a seven-year, $56 million contract extension in 2022. But his tenure was cut short last season after a long-running personal conflict with Pettersson led to a rupture in the Canucks locker room.
Miller, 32, was traded to the Rangers on Jan. 31 for center Filip Chytil, guard Victor Mancini and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft. Miller waived his no-trade clause to broker a trade that brought him back to New York, where he was drafted 15th overall in 2011 and played seven seasons.
He was named Rangers captain before the start of the season.
Pettersson downplayed the emotion surrounding Miller's return on Tuesday, noting that he already faced Miller as an opponent last season — the Rangers won 5-3 at MSG, but Pettersson left the game with an injury after 7:50 of ice time.
Instead of recounting their history together, he heaped praise on Miller's on-ice abilities.
“JT is an unbelievable player. He plays hard,” Pettersson said. “If I play him tonight, I’m going to try to be on the winning side.”
Tuesday's game marked the first time Miller and his family have returned to Vancouver. He said they spent some time reconnecting with friends and his former teammates — he was pictured dining with injured Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and head coach Adam Ford on Monday.
“I'm sure for him it will be [emotional]said Foote. “He's been here for a long time. He's played hard. The fans love him. They'll salute him. I'm sure the fans will cheer him on.”
Regardless of the reaction, Miller said returning to his former home will be a poignant experience. However, he emphasized that his focus is on the Rangers, who are off to a 3-5-2 start under new coach Mike Sullivan.
“It's going to be exciting for me, no doubt about it,” said Miller, who has two goals and four assists this season. “Just trying to worry about the task at hand for Rangers.
“We need to get a win. We have a lot to worry about here. We're trying to focus on that. We need to get things going as a team here. What happens beyond that is out of our control.”
That includes how fans and media framed Pettersson when he left Vancouver last season.
“I don't really look into how I'm drawn,” Miller said. “All I care about is my family. At the end of the day, it's what's best for both parties. We've moved forward. We're well beyond this.”