We don’t know a lot about why J.T. Miller took a leave from the Vancouver Canucks 15 days ago.
And when there’s a lack of information, people tend to speculate. It’s human nature. Certainly, that’s true in the sports media business.
But this isn’t a situation we often see in hockey. Miller isn’t merely dealing with an undisclosed injury (though he was playing through something), and he hasn’t entered an official league program.
He’s on a personal leave, and the reason behind it isn’t fully understood publicly.
It has been reported that Miller’s absence isn’t substance or alcohol abuse-related, so we can safely discount that. But otherwise?
It leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and the rumour mill has recently run wild with seemingly unsubstantiated theories. Miller was notably a topic of discussion on two popular podcasts, Spittin’ Chiclets as well as Cam and Strick, and that seemed to spark some chatter on social media.
The noise got loud enough that Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford responded to the situation in a conversation with Patrick Johnston of Postmedia.
“Don’t start making stuff up on someone in his situation. That’s disrespectful,” Rutherford said. “People that do this for fun, or for a living, just go back to making up trade rumours.”
Miller has been the subject of recent trade speculation despite his leave from the team and his no-movement clause. According to a report out of New York, the Rangers apparently called about Miller.
Rutherford shut that down, also.
“No, we are not (trading him),” Rutherford told Postmedia. “We stand by him.”
So when will we see the 31-year-old Canucks star again?
We do know that Team USA expects Miller to play at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February, given that he was named to their roster today. But beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.
Just be careful about what you’re guessing.