The Vancouver Canucks reported the forward J.T. Miller will take an indefinite leave from the team. This is due to personal reasons according to the club. News of this emerged on Tuesday afternoon.
News: #Canucks announce J.T. Miller is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” GM Patrik Allvin said.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 19, 2024
J.T. Miller Taking Indefinite Leave
Miller has played for the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Canucks over his 13-year NHL career. The East Palestine, Ohio native has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 17 games this season. He has a Corsi for of 58.4 and a relative Corsi of 8.8.
The 31-year-old has 244 goals and 411 assists for 655 points in 816 career games. New York originally drafted Miller in the first round, 15th overall of the 2011 NHL Draft. He’s been with the Canucks since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
Miller has represented the United States at the youth level in international tournaments. He was part of the gold-medal winning squad at the 2013 IIHF World Juniors in Ufa, Russia. Miller was also part of the young Team North America squad at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Canucks General Manager Patrick Allvin said that “Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him.”
Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston said the leave is not alcohol or substance-related. Johnston added that Miller is being given a chance to mentally reset.
What It Means
Miller was benched for the third period of a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday. However, he was still playing an important part to the roster. The veteran forward was tied for the team-lead in goals with Elias Pettersson.
Miller is the third season of a seven-year, $56 million contract that sees him making $8 million per season. He had been struggling lately, but Vancouver will surely miss one of the key components of their offence.
The Canucks finish up a six-game homestand against the Rangers at 10 p.m. Tuesday night.
Main photo by: Bob Frid-Iamgn Images
