VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Vancouver Canucks center JT Miller is leaving the team indefinitely for personal reasons, the team announced.
General manager Patrik Allvin said the team's focus is making sure Miller knows “the entire organization is here to support him.”
The 31-year-old Miller has six goals and 10 assists in 17 games for Vancouver (9-5-3) this season and is second on the team in points behind captain Quinn Hughes (18 points).
“Obviously he’s a big part of our team and a superstar in the league. Anytime you miss a guy like that, you’re going to feel it,” Hughes said. “But at the same time we have a lot of confidence in the guys we have here. At the beginning of the year we thought we had a competitive team, and it’s not just one player, it’s our entire group.”
Miller scored a career-high 103 points (37 goals, 66 assists) last season.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound forward from East Palestine, Ohio, was selected 15th overall by the Rangers in the 2011 draft and has played in 13 NHL seasons for New York, Vancouver and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Obviously it’s a very big gap that needs to be filled. But we wish him all the best in his personal matter and are here to support him and the entire organization,” said teammate Elias Pettersson.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said he is proud of his team despite the adversity and injuries that seem to be piling up.
“We dealt with a lot of things. With Dakota (Joshua) having cancer, a lot of things have been thrown at this team,” he said. “But we have a pretty good record considering a lot of things.”
