“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us” is what Elias Pettersson might have said to J.T. Miller during their well-publicized quarrel last season with the Vancouver Canucks. Maybe he even said it in Swedish. It led to J.T. Miller being traded to the New York Rangers in a messy break up (you know, the kind that leads teenagers to listen to emo music while saying “it’s not a phase, mom”). Neither team made last year’s playoffs after the trade.
That made Miller’s return to Vancouver a major highlight of this year’s Frozen Frenzy. Miller mostly skated around the controversy in a piece published by NHL.com, although he perhaps hinted at it when he said “there's going to be some distractions” and “I've never said a bad thing about Vancouver when I left”. Pettersson coldly took the high road as well, commenting “I played against him last year too” in a way that has us envisioning Ivan Drago from “Rocky IV” when prompted on the question.
Pettersson also commented about leaving last year in the past while Tyler Meyers reflected a little more on their locker room drama. Meyers called Miller someone who “wore his heart on his sleeve” ion both good and bad ways. He prefaced those comments by saying the rift between former teammates “wasn’t as big as it was made out to be”.
Thomas Drance of The Athletic pointed out some interesting points in game decisions by Miller that limited any drama in his return. The two examples he pointed out where Miller’s decision not to score an empty net goal and then the decision immediately following not to lay a hit on Pettersson in the neutral zone. Had he made those decisions differently maybe Pettersson would have had more to say against his former teammate in his post-game press conference.
How fans would react to Miller was something worth watching. Would they remain calm, or would they react with anger like a 2019 era crowd New York Islanders crowd “welcoming” back John Tavares? The New York Post reported loud boos came from the crowd the first time Miller touched the puck. Those boos would quiet down throughout the night. By time of the customary video tribute, the crowd mostly stood up and clapped. Then again if there is ever a time NHL fans stay civil against players they hate it’s during jumbo-tron tributes.
Miller and the Rangers left Vancouver winners with a 2-0 victory for their second shutout win of the season, both of which have come on the road as they continue to struggle at Madison Square Garden. Miller was left off of the score sheet. He finished with two shots, one hit and one block and with a 73.30% faceoff win percentage even if he didn’t register a point. Mika Zibanjead got a goal while Sam Carrick added an empty netter for both New York tallies. Pettersson was obviously left off of the scoresheet after having a strong week that excited Vancouver fans.