Canucks vs. Rangers Game Day Update: J.T. Miller is taking leave ...
'Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,' said GM Patrik Allvin
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Published Nov 19, 2024 • Last updated 55 minutes ago • 6 minute read
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When/where: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: J.T. Miller has left the Canucks and is taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons, according to general manager Patrik Allvin.
The veteran centre, who was benched and had just two shifts in the third period Sunday of a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators, has been battling nagging aliments, so this news shouldn’t be surprising.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” said Allvin. “We will have no further comment at this time.”
Postmedia has learned that the absence is likely to do a bothersome injury — upper back, neck or shoulder are possibilities — and it has hampered Miller from performing at his customary peak level. He played just one preseason game and early in the regular season, he didn’t take draws after getting tangled up in a face-off. Miller needs to mend whatever is preventing him from driving the play.
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“We don’t know how long and we respect the privacy of Millsy,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet. “It has nothing to do with — and please don’t speculate — because it has nothing to so with the benching (Sunday). He’s a family member and we’re going to support him.
“Millsy is his own worst critic. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s our F.U. Our emotional leader. He takes it upon himself every night and it’s hard to do. Everybody has to give an extra five or 10 per cent F.U. tonight. That’s how you make up for it in the short term. That’s why they chant his name.”
Tocchet stressed his relationship with Miller is good and wouldn’t speculate whether his absence is a combination of physical and emotional challenges.
“We talked yesterday (Monday). Since I’ve been here, he has played great and unreal hockey. Lucky to have him. But you have to deal with it,” added Tocchet. “We’ve dealt with a lot of stuff and we have a pretty good record. We’re not playing great, and teams are going through it, but we’re a resilient group.
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“We have guys to rely on and some young guys are getting a chance and that’s a good thing.”
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes said losing a member of the leadership group is a blow, especially Miller who can be a force on the ice, on the bench and in the room.
“Obviously, he’s a massive part of our team,” said Hughes. “A superstar in the league, and any time you miss a guy like that, you’re going to feel it. “But at the same time, I have a lot of confidence in the guys we have here.
“We have a contending team, and it’s just not one guy, it’s the whole group.”
Elias Pettersson admitted that the rigours of the game have an effect on everybody, not just Miller.
“I think all of us are dealing with stuff,” said Pettersson. “I don’t know, I can’t say I’ve seen stuff, but that’s how it is. People, all of us are dealing with something, I think but whatever is going on with him we’re all here to support him.
“The player will be hard to replace, but that means other guys got to step up, and opportunity to step up and get chances, and so it’s going to take a whole team effort tonight and moving forward. We can be a lot better and me included. Just small details that add up.”
The Canucks have also recalled Arshdeep Bains from their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.
Miller’s reactionary ritual when missing a scoring chance — or anything else that goes awry on any given shift — is a stick slam of frustration and an F-bomb for good measure to signal his high level of frustration.
Miller had two shifts of 33 and 66 seconds respectively Sunday when his club needed him the most and he finished a forgetful night with no shot attempts and a season-low 11:49 of ice time. He averages 18:24.
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“I went with the guys who I thought could get us back in the game,” bluntly stated Tocchet, who added that any lingering Miller ailment wasn’t the problem Sunday. “We need some key guys to make key plays for us.”
This isn’t new territory for Miller. On Dec. 27, 2018, he logged just 6:02 for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and on Jan. 23, 2018, he played only 4:55 for the New York Rangers. However, the latest minute subtraction is much more significant. And not being able to ice his ‘A’ games has a lot to do with it.
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Miller is the straw that stirs the offensive drink and is coming off a monster career-high 103 points (37-66) last season to finish ninth in NHL scoring.
J.T. Miller has missed the long-standing chemistry he developed with injured linemate Brock Boeser. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty ImagesMiller misses chemistry with injured linemate Brock Boeser, but he has played a lot with Pius Suter and not enough with rookie Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Miller is second in team scoring with 16 points (6-10) — two of his goals have been empty-netters — and he remains dominate on draws at 59.1 per cent, which ranks seventh overall. That’s impressive because he has been hampered in the circle.
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When Miller returns, he must revert to his home-ice presence Nov. 12 in a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. He was in high gear. He set up goals by Elias Pettersson and Suter, and fed Lekkerimaki for a power-play chance that was denied.
Miller also found Conor Garland with a laser cross-dish from wall to wall in the second period. It forced goaltender Dan Vladar to make a tough save. Miller finished with five shots and eight attempts and won 60 per cent of face-offs. He will need to rev it up again and get the crowd chanting his name.
And regardless of what needs to occur against the Rangers to improve on a paltry 3-4-3 home record, the fourth line can’t be the best line.
“They (Predators) block a lot of shots and pack the house and are hard to score on — especially when they have a lead like that,” Garland said of the Sunday setback. “We played with desperation, but didn’t bury our chances. It’s a fine line in this league.”
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The history: The Canucks split the 2023-24 season series. They dropped a 4-3 overtime decision at home on Oct. 28 as K’Andre Miller got the winner. On Jan. 8 at MSG, the re-united Lotto Line struck for eight points (4-4) in a 6-3 win. Pettersson had two goals and two assists.
The hope: The re-united ‘Meat and Potatoes’ line of Dakota Joshua, Teddy Blueger and Garland re-kindles its domination of last season and becomes a difference-maker to shut down the Rangers’ seventh-ranked offence at 3.56 goals per outing.
The fear: The 15th-ranked penalty kill (80.4 per cent) was bad Sunday in going 0-for-2 amid positional confusion. The 13th-rated power play (22 per cent) has scored in six of the last seven games (6-for-19, 33 per cent). Pettersson struck with the man advantage Sunday.
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The top guns: Pettersson has six points (4-2) in his last five games.
The wounded: Canucks: J.T. Miller (leave of absence), Derek Forbort (knee, IR), Thatcher Demko (knee, week-to-week, IR), Vincent Desharnais (undisclosed, day-to-day). Rangers: Filip Chytil (upper body, day-to-day), Riley Nash (lower body, IR).
The quote: “We ran around too much on the penalty kill and were overplaying one side. A couple of guys running around. You can’t do that.” — Rick Tocchet.
The latest: Boeser and Forbort have been skating as they recover from their injuries.
The possible lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood
Joshua-Suter-Garland*
Heinenb-Blueger-Lekkerimaki
Bains-Raty-Hoglander
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Brannstrom-Juulsen
Silovs
(*Garland on baby watch)
The prediction: The Canucks follow up another bad performance at home ice by striking twice on the power play to prevail 4-3 and end a six-game homestead on a positive note.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to @provincesports and we’ll get it in a future edition.)
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