The off-ice noise is neverending.
The Vancouver Canucks might have hoped that the story of the "rift" between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson could be left in 2024. Instead, the story is alive and well in the early days of 2025.
Part of that is the Canucks' own fault. Patrik Allvin's public criticism of Pettersson and acknowledgment that a trade could be an option only provided more fuel for the fire. The general consensus is that the general manager was looking to light a fire under Pettersson but it helped keep the supposed feud in the public eye.
The story kept going with contributions from former Canucks players. In an appearance on Shane O'Brien and Scottie Upshall's Missin Curfew podcast, Brad Richardson said that he saw the tensions between the two players when he played with them in Vancouver.
"I love J.T. — love him. He's a ****ing animal," said Richardson. "I even told him: you're too hard on this kid. You're too hard on him. You're saying exactly what I think, but he's a kid that when you're on him, on him, on him, he's going to shut down. You're going to lose this guy if you keep doing it...Something's going to give."
Former Canucks captain Bo Horvat also weighed in on the issue but was a little more diplomatic, as has always been Horvat's way, as he suggested it's been blown out of proportion.
"Miller and I got along great. There's gonna be times when you're gonna cuss each other out. There's gonna be times when you're not gonna like somebody, but at the same time, you respect everybody," said Horvat. "You're all friends in there, you're all teammates, and you're all fighting towards the same goal. Are you gonna get along all the time? No, but at the same time, he and I had a good relationship. Same with me and Petey."
Honestly, the big story from that Horvat interview is that he felt he was lied to by Canucks management when they traded him.
"Honestly, the way it was all handled is what I was most upset about," said Horvat. "They said one thing, and they did the complete opposite. It's just frustrating when you are told one thing, and the opposite happens. That's not to say I'm not happy where I am right now. Obviously, I love Long Island, love being here, and I'm happy to be here, but, yeah, just the way it was all handled rubbed me the wrong way."
All of this just two days into 2025.
You have to wonder if Canucks management would prefer if the focus was on the ice. Maybe not, considering injuries to Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek have exposed just how thin the blueline they've constructed really is. Still, winning may not solve problems but it at least provides some spackle and a fresh coat of paint to cover them up. Sometimes, that's all you need.
On Thursday night, the Canucks will look to kick off 2025 with a win against the Seattle Kraken to turn the focus away from all the off-ice noise.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
It's unclear if the Canucks will make any lineup changes after losing two straight games but Tocchet said they will make a game-time decision on defence. Considering the only extra defenceman on the trip is the left-handed Guillaume Brisebois, their options are limited.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines, which will be updated after they take the ice for warm-up:
If the defence will be a game-time decision, one must wonder if they're dealing with a minor injury. If it's performance-based, Noah Juulsen has struggled significantly but he's a right-handed shot. If the Canucks want to keep the split of lefties and righties, then Brisebois would come in for a left-shot defenceman like Derek Forbort, Carson Soucy, or Erik Brännström.
UPDATE: Sure enough, Brännström is coming out of the lineup for Brisebois. Taking out the only defenceman who has shown any ability for moving the puck in favour of an AHLer is a choice.
In addition, we'll see some shaken up forward lines, as Phil Di Giuseppe has been bumped up to the second line with Pius Suter and Conor Garland, bumping Nils Höglander down to the fourth line. In addition, Dakota Joshua will be on the third line with Teddy Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Thatcher Demko, with Kevin Lankinen expected to start on Friday against the Nashville Predators in the second half of back-to-back games.
Seattle Kraken projected lines
The Kraken have won two straight heading into Thursday's game, including the comeback overtime win over the Canucks on December 28.
Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn have been outstanding in those two games, with five and four points, respectively.
Here are the projected lines for the Seattle Kraken, courtesy of Kraken radio host Mike Benton:
Jaden Schwartz - Matty Beniers - Kaapo Kakko
Jared McCann - Chandler Stephenson - André Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen - Shane Wright - Olier Bjorkstrand
Tye Kartye - Yanni Gourde - Brandon Tanev
Vince Dunn - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans - Josh Mahura
Philipp Grubauer
Ales Stezka
The Kraken's starting goaltender is expected to be Philipp Grubauer, who has struggled overall this season with an .878 save percentage but was in net for the Kraken's two recent wins.
