Canucks president confirms rift between forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson

The Vancouver Canucks' president of hockey operations says he doesn't see a way forward for the current roster amid an ongoing rift between two of its top stars.

Jim Rutherford addressed a long-rumoured spat between centres J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson in an interview with The Globe and Mail published Tuesday.

"I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved," he said.

"But it only gets resolved for a short period of time and then it festers again and so it certainly appears like there's not a good solution that would keep this group together."

The story does not detail what the issue is between the two players, but Rutherford said the drama has impacted the entire Canucks squad.

Vancouver finished last season atop the Pacific Division before being eliminated from the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of a gritty second-round series.

This season, the Canucks (22-17-10) have struggled to string wins, or even solid periods, together. The team sits one point below the Calgary Flames, who hold the Western Conference's second wild card spot.

"When you don't have chemistry, it's hard to be that consistent team because there's too much going on in the room for everybody to concentrate on what they're supposed to do," Rutherford told The Globe and Mail.

Both Miller and Pettersson have lacked their usual offensive prowess this year.

After putting up a career-high 103 points in the 2023-24 campaign, Miller has amassed nine goals and 34 points in 39 games.

The 31-year-old American missed 10 games in November and early December after stepping away from the team for personal reasons.

Expectations for Pettersson were high this fall after he