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The Vancouver Canucks are currently without forward J.T. Miller, who has taken a personal leave of absence from the team.
While no details have been disclosed about the issue Miller is facing, Canucks president Jim Rutherford wants fans and media to refrain from speculating about the reasons for his absence.
“Don’t start making stuff up on someone in his situation (being on a personal leave). That’s disrespectful,” he said, via Patrick Johnston of The Province. “People that do this for fun, or for a living, (they should) just go back to making up trade rumors.”
As far as any trade speculation goes, Rutherford also put an immediate end to it.
“No, we are not (trading him),” Rutherford said. “We stand by him.”
The good news for the Canucks is that Miller has been skating, and head coach Rick Tocchet has said that the team has “a plan” to work him back into the lineup.
The Canucks are back in action on Friday night, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver.
Canucks hoping to have forward J.T. Miller back soon
Miller, who signed a seven-year, $56 million deal with the Canucks, hasn't been available to the team for the last several weeks. When his absence was announced, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin made it clear that they had every intention of supporting their player.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Allvin said in a statement. “Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”
Miller was selected to Team USA's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, giving hope that the veteran will be back in the Canucks' lineup sooner rather than later.
Miller has been one of the main components of the offense for the last handful of seasons in Vancouver, including 37 goals and 66 assists in 2023-24. Before he departed, he had scored six goals with 10 assists as well as a +1 rating.
