J.T. Miller Not Interested In Joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Elliotte Friedman

The discourse between J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and the Vancouver Canucks is reaching a critical boiling point. Over a year in the making, this inner-team rivalry has stretched beyond the locker room into headline news.

There's reports that both Miller and Petterrson could be on the move, with Miller looking for one specific destination if he had his way. This leads to a lot of speculation of which teams could make a big splash and acquire one of the league's top forwards.

So when Elliotte Friedman spoke on Saturday night regarding the Canucks' situation, fans wondered if he had the inside scoop on where he may end up.

For Leafs fans however, it was more of the same disappointment they've faced before.

With Miller passing on the Maple Leafs and deciding to go elsewhere, what can Brad Treliving do in order to make a big enough impact at the deadline.

It's not just an issue that Treliving and the Maple Leafs miss out on adding a premier forward to their lineup for a deep playoff push, but it shows that players aren't necessarily jumping at the chance to play for the team.

That spells danger for the team come trade time, as trying to add the right players often comes at a cost, be it financially or morale-wise. A lot of the league's top players on the market have no-trade clauses which makes Toronto's ability to get the key player they need that much more difficult.

It's not a bad thing that Toronto avoids Miller's contract but the chance to give him a fresh start clearly isn't enough to persuade him.

More surprisingly, while it's understandable he wants to go to an American team, his top choice of the struggling Rangers is a puzzling one but makes sense given the team selected him in 2011.

This season, Miller has six goals and 19 assists for the Canucks.

He was drafted 15th overall by the Rangers and spent six seasons there before a two-year stint with Tampa Bay before being traded to the Canucks where he's been ever since.