Canucks Halloween party drama highlights team leadership struggle
There’s more drama coming out of Vancouver.
On Wednesday’s edition of Sekers and Price, Matt Sekeres reported that Canucks captain Bo Horvat skipped out on the team’s Halloween party a few weeks ago and that it didn’t sit well with some of his teammates.
"The #Canucks have a culture problem and it would appear the captain is increasingly alienated from the group, if not isolated."
– @mattsekeres on a potential divide between leaders inside the dressing room.https://t.co/8QAzL1xGtm
Sekeres said that this situation represents an overarching leadership struggle between Horvat and J.T. Miller, the team’s leading scorer. While Horvat is known as a quiet, lead-by-example type, Miller is a loud alpha type who can fire the team up with his intensity.
While Sekeres goes on to say that there isn’t an indication that Horvat and Miller are butting heads, he does point out that there’s a “leadership vacuum” and young players on the Canucks are unsure of which voice to follow.
After Vancouver’s most recent loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Miller expressed some frustration in regards to the buy-in level from his teammates…
Reporter: "Is everyone buying in right now?"
JT Miller: "I don't know."
What do you think #Canucks fans? pic.twitter.com/qU3okgs2PD
This situation would explain why Miller’s name has been coming up in trade rumors as of late.
Both Horvat and Miller are set to become unrestricted free agents after the 2022-23 season. The Canucks drafted Horvat with the No. 9 overall pick in 2013 and they traded a first-round pick to acquire Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2019.
Given his strong season, 19 points in 20 games while logging 21:38 per game, Miller is certainly the player with more trade value right now. The Canucks own a putrid 6-12-2 record right now and if they don’t turn things around soon, a major shake-up wouldn’t be a surprise.