BREAKING: Canucks' J.T. Miller takes indefinite leave of absence

With the market still talking about the forwards benching on Sunday night in the Canucks' match up against Nashville, the team has announced that J.T. Miller will be taking an indefinite leave of absence due to personal reasons.

Over the course of his Canucks tenure, Miller has been in the lineup for 381 of the 388 games the team has played. He has been a stunning example of strength and resilience since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning six seasons ago. His longest absence from the team until now has been the team-wide struggle with COVID-19 during the pandemic season.

Miller has been off to slower than expected start this season after coming into the year with just one preseason game to prepare. While there has been little communication from him or the team, he has seemingly been fighting through some ailments since training camp, including an incident which limited his face-off taking ability on the team's first road trip of the year.

Still, he has recorded six goals and ten assists through 17 games played, reflecting a reoccurring trend where Miller can continue to put up points while not playing like the fully engaged 2-way threat he can be. One could definitely point to his physical status playing a part in his drive through the first two months of the year, however it is not the first time Miller has been accused of looking disengaged.

Prior to the arrival of current head coach Rick Tocchet, there were stints of play where the Canucks star appeared to put in some lacklustre effort on the defensive side of the ice. This often led to criticism from fans and media alike during the Travis Green and Bruce Boudreau eras. Sunday's decision by Tocchet to bench one of his leaders was not a new occurrence. This happened the season previous as well, also against the Predators. On October 31st, 2023, Miller was in the same situation as he was this time around. However last year, he would go on to score that game and put up multiple points in the next six games, and seven of the next ten.

Canucks fans were hoping to see the same effect tonight as the team welcomes the New York Rangers to town for the finale of this extended homestand. Whether the benching and his leave of absence are related, Vancouverites will have to wait patiently to see Miller's response on the ice. Hopefully, Miller is able to find support from family and friends in whatever he is dealing with during his time away from the team.

In the meantime, Canucks' GM Patrick Allvin has announced forward Arshdeep Bains has been recalled from AHL Abbotsford. He will return to the lineup after six days with the farm team. Another move still may be on the horizon for Canucks as dynamic winger Conor Garland is away to support his wife as they prepare to welcome their first child.

Canucks faceoff tonight at 7:00PM (PST) against NYR at Rogers Arena.