J.T. Miller

Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller is taking an indefinite leave of absence "for personal reasons," the team announced Tuesday.

"Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him," general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement. "Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time."

Miller is in his sixth campaign with the Canucks and 13th in the NHL. He had recorded six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 17 games this season.

Most recently Miller skated a season-low 11:41 during Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

His final shift of the night ended with 14:40 remaining in regulation. He did not return to the ice, despite a late goal from Kiefer Sherwood that put Vancouver within one tally of tying the contest with six minutes left.

"Didn't think he was one of the guys that could get us back in the game," head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters on Sunday night when asked about Miller's limited ice time in the third period (h/t Sportsnet 360's Josh Elliott-Wolfe.)

When asked if Miller's limited play was related to an injury, Tocchet answered, "No."

As the Canucks' top-line center, Miller provided a veteran presence between Pius Suter and rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki.

Elias Pettersson could move up to anchor the first line in his absence, which will test the Canucks' center depth as well as the team's penalty kill and power play.

Miller is playing in the second season of a seven-year, $56 million contract with the Canucks. Last season he cleared the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career while helping lead Vancouver to the second round.

In 381 regular-season games Miller has recorded 269 assists for the Canucks, good for the tenth most in franchise history.

J.T. Miller scored with just over 30 seconds remaining in regulation to put the Vancouver Canucks ahead in a critical Friday night Game 5.

Miller's last-minute tally sealed the Canucks' 3-2 win and put the Edmonton Oilers on the brink of elimination from the Western Conference semifinals.

The Canucks lead the series 3-2.

The game-winner represented redemption for Miller, who was on the ice when Evan Bouchard scored a similar last-minute goal to put the Oilers ahead in Game 4 with 38.1 seconds left on the clock.

Miller took the blame for that loss in a text to Rick Tocchet, the Canucks' head coach said after Game 4.

Miller scored on a rebound caused by Elias Pettersson's netfront presence, which was a factor throughout Friday night's game.

Canucks netminder Arturs Silovs meanwhile finished the night having turned aside 21 of 23 Oilers shots.

Silovs, who entered the postseason as Vancouver's third-string goaltender, was playing in just his 17th NHL game.

Edmonton stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl failed to score on a combined four shots.

McDavid, who was on the ice for Miller's game-winner, was held off the scoresheet all together for the second time in three games.

Miller, Pettersson, Silov and the rest of the Canucks will now get a chance to punch their ticket to the conference finals for the first time since 2011 with a win in Game 6 Saturday night. The puck will drop in Edmonton at 8 p.m. ET.

The Vancouver Canucks and J.T. Miller have agreed to terms on a new seven-year, $56 million contract, the franchise announced Friday.

Miller was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 campaign. He'll earn $5.25 million this season before his new contract, which is worth $8 million per year, kicks in during 2023-24.

In early July, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun noted that Miller could have been traded this summer and was drawing "lots of interest" on the market. At that point, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported the Canucks and Miller were far apart on contract negotiations.

However, Miller's agent, Brian Bartlett, told The Athletic's Harman Dayal on July 20 that he believed the two sides could work out a deal:

"I do think there's a realistic path for an extension with the Canucks. J.T. loves it in Vancouver. He feels like the team is improving. He loved his role there. His family likes the city.

"He would be on board with an extension. The part that we can't answer is at what value or level the team places on him. From our end, from J.T.'s end, there's a path forward on an extension, but it takes two to tango, I guess."

The 29-year-old was also included in trade rumors leading up to March's deadline, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers being linked to a move for the veteran forward.

Miller had a career year with the Canucks in 2021-22, notching 32 goals and 67 assists for 99 points in 80 games. He has been a staple in the team's lineup since the 2019-20 season and has tallied 74 goals and 143 assists for 217 points in 202 games across three seasons.

At $8 million per year, Miller is set to become Vancouver's highest-paid player in 2023-24, topping the $7.85 million defenseman Quinn Hughes makes annually. According to CapFriendly, the franchise is more than $2.7 million over the salary cap for next season.

Miller began his career with the New York Rangers, who selected him 15th overall in the 2011 NHL draft. He made his debut during the 2012-13 season and became a regular in the New York lineup in 2014-15.

In 341 games with the Rangers across five-and-a-half seasons, he notched 72 goals and 100 assists for 172 points.

The Rangers traded Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2017-18 campaign, and he tallied 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points in 94 games for the franchise. The Bolts later traded him to the Canucks, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The New York Islanders may have been close to trading for J.T. Miller during the 2022 NHL draft in July. Or perhaps they weren't. It isn't clear just how close the Vancouver Canucks were to dealing the 29-year-old center.

But there was a ton of buzz around that time regarding a potential Isles-Canucks trade that would have sent Miller to New York ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Athletic's Kevin Kurz reported in July that it was "unclear" whether the two teams engaged in those types of talks amid all the rumors.

That doesn't rule out a future trade involving Miller, though. And with how the offseason has unfolded for the Islanders, it may be time for them to pursue a deal with the Canucks (potentially for a second time).

During a recent appearance on the Sekeres & Price Show, The Athletic's Rick Dhaliwal indicated that New York may be back in the market for Miller after it missed out on free-agent center Nazem Kadri, who signed with the Calgary Flames last week.

"The Islanders tried right up until the last minute to create cap space [for Kadri], but they just ran out of time," Dhaliwal said on the podcast. "Calgary, the Islanders, Colorado, Carolina were the teams in on Kadri. But here's the thing, and this gets into Vancouver—first of all, I'll be surprised if the Islanders do not revisit Miller and the Canucks. I think we would all be surprised."

Whether the Islanders can pull off a trade for Miller may also come down to the salary cap. They have about $2.14 million in available space, per CapFriendly, and Miller has a $5.25 million cap hit for the 2022-23 season, the final year of his current contract.

So in addition to likely parting with draft picks, New York would need to clear enough cap space to fit Miller onto its roster. Would it be able to do so and swing a deal with Vancouver? That isn't clear at this point.

But it would be a wise move for the Islanders to find a way to land Miller. He's a 10-year NHL veteran who is coming off an impressive 2021-22 season with the Canucks (his third with the team) in which he set career highs in points (99), goals (32) and assists (67) in 80 games.

Earlier this summer, Kurz's report indicated that Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello would be interested in bringing Miller to the team.

“That would be Lou’s type of player,” a league source told Kurz in July. “He wants a guy that’s going to show up and play every night, and one thing about J.T. Miller is he shows up and plays every night. I think that’s a guy I think fits right in to the Islanders right now. He changes the dynamic of your team instantly.”

And that's why New York should make a push to trade for Miller, an even stronger one than it may have had last month. The Islanders need an offensive boost, Miller would bring that, and it should be a great fit for both sides.