The New York Rangers play the Vancouver Canucks in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. Both teams are the first team out in their respective conference, so it is a vital game. It also is the final chapter in one of the season’s most bizarre storylines. JT Miller and the Canucks had a falling out, forcing his trade to the Rangers, which is where he started his career. Ahead of the MSG matchup, Miller spoke with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.
“I don’t want to get into too much detail, but, yeah, I think a fresh start was needed,” Miller said. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about the Canucks or Vancouver as a city. We loved it there. It felt like home and that’s all you can ask for. But, unfortunately, this is a business and in the business end of things, it was getting difficult.”
Miller took a leave of absence from the Canucks early in the season amid reports of a rift with teammate Elias Pettersson. Both players landed on the trade block but Miller was the one they moved. Miller downplayed the rift ahead of Saturday’s game, speaking about Jim Rutherford’s comments ahead of the trade.
The whole me-and-Petey thing, it’s still blown out of proportion,” Miller said. “Clearly, if me and Petey were better than we were, obviously this might be different. But it’s also not as bad as everybody thought, either. It’s just an easy thing for everybody to run with. There was just a lot of moving parts.”
Miller represented the United States and Pettersson his native Sweden in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off. There were no fireworks there, so don’t expect any on Saturday. Both teams are struggling and need a win. It would hamper both teams for there to be a fight between the players so it likely won’t happen.
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