Canucks family supporting J.T. Miller during leave from team

VANCOUVER — Near the start of his Tuesday morning media availability, Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet implored us not to speculate on centre J.T. Miller’s sudden and indefinite personal leave of absence.

But people will speculate. We won’t. But before anyone else does, they should remember this about Miller: No one is more dedicated to playing — and leading — the Canucks than he is.

“This has become a home for us,” Miller, an American from Ohio, told us at the end of the 2022-23 season when asked why he signed a seven-year contract to stay in such a combustible, unyielding market. “Our children were babies when they came here. We’ve made it home. I mean, the city has been unbelievable to me. The amount of support we have and to be in a passionate fan base like this, why wouldn’t you want (to stay)?”

And later in that interview: “I feel like I’m here for the big picture in the long haul. This team, it’s going this way (up). I really believe that we’re going to be contending to win a Stanley Cup in the future. I can’t predict if it’s next year, the year after, four years, five years, but the reason I signed for seven is because I want to be here when it does happen. And I believe it’s going to happen.”

So that is J.T. Miller for you, the player Tocchet described this morning as the Canucks’ “F.U. — the guy that is an emotional leader. He takes it upon himself to do it every night, and it’s hard to do.”

Starting Tuesday night against the New York Rangers, the Canucks will be doing it without Miller for the foreseeable future.

Miller’s leave was announced as players trickled onto the ice at Rogers Arena for the morning skate.

Tocchet made sure to emphasize for reporters that Miller’s absence has nothing to do with the coach benching the centre for the final 14 minutes of Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators, a game in which the 31-year-old’s ice time of 11:41 was the lowest since his trade to the Canucks from the Tampa Bay Lightning five-and-a-half years ago.

Miller, who has been playing through an undisclosed medical issue since training camp, was poor against the Predators. He was also visibly upset at times, like when he charged off the ice after one of two third-period shifts and hurled himself onto the bench, colliding with teammates.

After a 103-point season a year ago to start that seven-year, $56-million contract extension, Miller has six goals and 16 points in 17 games for the Canucks this fall. He admitted last week that he hadn’t played with his usual physicality and explosiveness, but said his medical issue was improving.

Now, he joins No. 1 winger Brock Boeser (concussion) and Vezina Trophy-runner goalie Thatcher Demko (knee) out of the lineup. Key winger Conor Garland, one of Miller’s closest friends on the team, also missed the morning skate on Tuesday. Happily, Garland was away because he and his wife were expecting the couple’s first baby.

“Whenever a player goes through something like this, you’re just there to support him,” senior defenceman Tyler Myers said of Miller. “And that goes for everybody in the room. Whatever he needs, he’ll get the support from us.

“He carries a lot of weight in the room. You know, he carries the emotional weight of the room. Whenever any player, especially Millsy, needs anything like this, it’s important for everyone to come together and be there for each other.”

Winger Dakota Joshua, two games into his return from testicular cancer, has experienced the critical importance of that support.

“Family is a great word to describe it,” Joshua said. “We’re all here for one another, no matter what somebody’s going through. That’s just a given — a must-have that the team’s got your back. And so, yeah, we’ve got his. And for however long he’s not with us, we’ll be here to carry the weight in his absence.”

Even if Garland plays against the Rangers, which seems doubtful, there is a lot of leadership and talent not playing for the Canucks.

As it ends a six-game homestand, Vancouver is 2-3 and struggling to regain last season’s form and play to the team’s fast, physical identity. At least we know some of the reasons why.

“Well, we’ve dealt with a lot of stuff,” Tocchet said. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s thrown at this team. We’ve got a pretty good record (9-5-3) considering a lot of stuff (that has happened). We know we’re not playing great hockey. Spots we are playing great hockey, and some spots we’re not. You look around the league; teams are going through it. We’re a resilient group, and there’s some guys that we’re going to rely on, obviously, to get their game going. But also some good young players here that get a chance to play. I think it’s a positive in that respect.”

Asked if he was caught off-guard by Miller’s leave, the coach said: “Anytime… something like that happens, was it off guard? You just deal with things. You know, that’s what we do. We’re hockey players, we’re hockey coaches. You deal with certain things.”

Obviously, Miller is dealing with things, too, probably far more important than hockey. He has transformed himself in Vancouver as a player, channelling all those fierce emotions and pushing himself to be a better leader. It’s not coincidental that he and the team have been simultaneously rebranded.

“My whole life I’ve been emotional and competitive,” Miller told us during a quiet moment last January. “But that was hardly the part that got reported on. It was the bad side. It was something that people don’t understand. (Tocchet and the coaching staff) helped me to be comfortable and just own that I’m an emotional person. It’s okay. I don’t really feel sorry for being emotional anymore.

“It’s a constant… not struggle, but I want to work on it. I understand that when I’m upset, it can affect the emotion of the team and I don’t want that. That’s the last thing I want, and that’s the guilt I’ve got to live with when I do burst or whatever the hell it is. For most of the time, my energy is spent in the right direction. I think we’re just trying to get another five or 10 per cent focus.”

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