Canucks: Newcomer Vincent Desharnais gives J.T. Miller the ultimate competitive chirp

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J.T. Miller has been called many things. “Stubborn” comes to mind. So does “Cantankerous”. So does “Effective”. It’s how he piled up a career-high 37 goals and 103 points last NHL season to finish first in team scoring and ninth overall in the league.

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However, free-agent newcomer Vincent Desharnais found another adjective Monday to aptly describe the driven Vancouver Canucks centre, who makes no excuses for wearing his heart on his sleeve, dropping F-bombs, and those stick slams of frustration.

As the club gathered for breakfast during the annual Jake Milford charity golf tournament at Northview in Surrey, the towering ex-Oiler defender stole the show.

Desharnais was asked during a question-and-answer segment what he learned about Miller during the clubs’ second-round playoff series last spring. (The Oilers prevailed in seven games.)

“J.T. Miller is an asshole,” Desharnais said, to a chorus of applause and laughter. “But seriously, playing against you guys (Canucks), I definitely didn’t enjoy it. You guys were so intense with your style of play, and I’ll do everything I can to help us go all the way.”

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Pettersson has reason for optimism

Elias Pettersson wasn’t talking Monday. At least not to the media.

The Canucks centre, and some other players, are waiting until training camp in Penticton to provide their takes on what awaits and what happened last season. For the most part, it was all good. However, for Pettersson a promising first half was overshadowed by knee tendinitis in January that hampered his compete level and production.

Pettersson was held to just one goal in the final 13 regular-season games and six points (1-5) points in 13 playoff games. He still finished with 89 points (34-55) and was third in club scoring. The frustration came from what could have been had he stayed healthy, instead of playing through pain.

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“It will be nice to get a break from everything,” Pettersson said prior to the off-season. “Obviously, it’s been a very noisy season in terms of contracts and how sh*t I’ve been the last three months. I’m just excited to get a little break here, and then get back on the horse again, train hard, and come in the best shape possible next season.”

There’s every reason to believe Pettersson can produce, especially with new linemates. While the tendinitis he experienced was nagging, it was also a window on how the Canucks went from hunters to the hunted. Puck battles became bigger in the second half of the regular season and it was amped up to a much bigger degree in the post-season.

Dr. Harjas Grewal is a B.C. physician and ardent hockey analyst. He studied physical medicine, completed a rehabilitation residency and was medical assistant at the 2019 world junior hockey championship in Vancouver and Victoria. He believed what Pettersson endured in the second half of last season can be cured.

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“The term tendinitis is still used, but we have tried to move away from that as usually the cause of the pain in not inflammation, but rather overuse and we call it tendinopathy or tendinosis,” said Dr. Grewal. “Pettersson’s off-season regimen would have started with pain management through stretching and lighter strengthening exercises, just to ensure he doesn’t lose any muscle mass.

“The key is controlled progressive strengthening of the quadriceps, hamstrings and hip muscles. From there, he would get into more dynamic sports-specific activities with assessment of his movement patterns to ensure they are efficient and proper. If the program is done correctly, he should be pain free right now and in a stronger spot that he was coming into last season.

“If he had a good program through the summer, the chances of this injury recurring is quite low.”

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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