The Vancouver Canucks have landed in Ottawa, where they’ll open a six-game road trip without their emotional leader on Saturday.
Playing without J.T. Miller, who has taken a leave of absence from the team, is an unfamiliar situation for the Canucks. Since joining the organization in 2019, Miller has missed just eight games. He has scored 418 points in 381 games during that time, well ahead of any other Canuck.
Miller will miss seven in a row at least, given that he was out of the lineup for Vancouver’s last game against the New York Rangers and isn’t on the current road trip.
The 31-year-old centre is not only battling an injury, he also reportedly needs a mental reset.
While Miller’s leave was announced as “indefinite,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Sportsnet 650 today that he’s expected to return to the team after the road trip ends on December 3. Their next home game is in two weeks, against Columbus on December 6.
“The expectation here is he’ll hopefully — and everybody hopes he’s OK — hopefully he rejoins the team after the road trip,” Friedman said in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough.
🗣️”The expectation is still hopefully he rejoins the #Canucks after the road trip, but the situation is unusual.”
➡️@MikeHalford604 & @SadClubCommish chat with @FriedgeHNIC about JT Miller.
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) November 22, 2024
The Canucks are also hopeful that they’ll get both Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser back in the near future. Both players are on the road trip, which is a particularly good sign with Boeser given he’s coming off a head injury. Demko, meanwhile, spoke to the media on Wednesday.
The Canucks’ All-Star goalie told reporters he’s feeling the best he’s felt in seven to eight months.
“It’s still a lot of work to do, I think, but I feel really good,” Demko said. “Finally have a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel and have a lot of direction in what we’re trying to accomplish.”