Canucks F Miller taking indefinite leave of absence
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Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons, general manager Patrik Allvin announced on Tuesday.
"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."
The 31-year-old Miler has scored six goals and 10 assists over 17 games with the Canucks in 2024-25, his sixth season in Vancouver and 13th in the NHL.
Miller is coming off a career season in 2023-24 where he scored 37 goals and 66 assists for 103 points over 81 games and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
“Obviously, he’s a massive part of our team,” Canucks captain Quinn Hughes told the Vancouver Province Tuesday. “A superstar in the league, and any time you miss a guy like that, you’re going to feel it.
“But at the same time, I have a lot of confidence in the guys we have here. We have a contending team, and it’s just not one guy, it’s the whole group.”
A native of East Palestine, Ohio, Miller is in the second season of a seven-year, $56 million contract, featuring an average annual value of $8 million. The Canucks acquired Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2019 NHL Draft in exchange for goalie Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 conditional first-round pick.
Selected by the New York Rangers 15th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, Miller has tallied 244 goals and 411 assists over 816 career games with the Rangers,Lightning and Canucks. He has 12 goals and 44 assists over 91 games in the playoffs.
The Canucks, who have started the season 9-5-3, will host the Rangers on Tuesday night.