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Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller has been in the NHL for a long time.
The veteran is just one game short of hitting 800 for his career, and with that longevity comes some stories.
Former NHL defenceman Keith Yandle recently told a funny one on an episode of the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast, hosted by Jonny Lazarus and Colby Cohen.
The story takes place during Miller’s rookie season with the New York Rangers. Yandle and Kevin Hayes stole the young player’s car and left it on the West Side Highway.
“At the end of the year, your year-end meetings, it goes in order of seniority,” started Yandle when explaining the story.
That Rangers team had plenty of older players who got to go first for the exit meetings, including Martin St. Louis, Dan Boyle, and Rick Nash.
“I came in, and Nasher [Rick Nash] was waiting, and I was like, ‘What are you waiting for? You’re Rick Nash.’ He was like, ‘Oh, Millsy’s in there,’” continued Yandle as he set the scene.
Imagine leaving your exit meeting with the @NYRangers and finding out your car got stolen by Keith Yandle and @KevinPHayes12 🤣
Yands told us about this hilarious prank on J.T. Miller when they were on #NYR together.
Presented by @ProrasoUSA #ShaveLikeAPro pic.twitter.com/I1NpB22dR5
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) May 1, 2024
Miller was a rookie at the time, yet he had taken an earlier meeting with some of the veteran players.
“Apparently he’s got to get home,” Yandle said Nash explained to him at the time.
“Get home? The guy lives in East Palestine, Ohio,” Yandle recounted about his thoughts at the time. “What does he need to get home to? What does this hillbilly need to get home for? His car is right outside, still running, all of his stuff in there.”
“I’m like Haysie [Kevin Hayes] follow me, I jumped in, and we drove it; I think he had a Dodge Durango or something, it was a soccer mom’s car, he was like 20 years old. It was great.”
“I think he learned his lesson.”
Miller does not seem like the type of person you want to mess with, although every NHL rookie ends up on the receiving end of pranks.
Perhaps the prank culture rubbed off on Miller a bit, as he was the one that orchestrated the special Conor Garland T-shirts for the Canucks earlier this year.