Pettersson Dark Side: Ex-Canuck Warns Miller About Pettersson’s Prickly Side

Former Vancouver Canuck forward was a guest on the Missin’ Curfew podcast and opened up about the dynamic between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. He hinted that he saw these current issues coming from a mile away and even warned Miller that he was riding the Canucks’ superstar too hard.

Richardson was a member of the Canucks in 2013-15 and then returned in 2021-22 for 17 games. In those 17 games, he played with both Miller and Pettersson. He could see up close and personal what the dynamic was like. It was evident that the differences in personality, particularly how Pettersson was going to react to being motivated with tough love was going to be a problem.

Richardson Speaks on the Drama

Richardson had this to say about Miller:

“I love J.T. He’s a f—ing animal. But I even told him, ‘You’re too hard on the kid,’”

Does this support the theory out there that the two stars do have friction?

“Listen. J.T., he’s the man. But there is a lot of tension. And something’s gonna give. I’m not saying you’re going to love every guy on your team — it helps — but something’s gonna give there. We’ll see.”

Is the Pettersson and Miller Drama True?

There have been reports from people who are familiar with the locker room that have said there was tension. However, there has been evidence that it has to do with them not liking each other.

It appears it has to do with a personality difference. Miller has a brash personality. He speaks his mind and doesn’t shy away from an altercation. Pettersson has the opposite personality. He’s not big on confrontation and doesn’t like the external negative pressure that comes from teammates or the media. When Miller pushes, it doesn’t often extract the best results and sometimes, they don’t see eye to eye.

Richardson also mentioned that Miller is an extrovert and Pettersson is an introvert. There were times when Pettersson would be bothered by things said and done in the room. However, he usually doesn’t let it get to him.

When you add the pressure of the market and how the team is performing. It makes everything seem a bit louder and more complicated to deal with.

So yes, Richardson confirmed that there may be tension, but he didn’t mention it because they don’t like each other. They are just polar opposites of one another.