Expect Canucks forward J.T. Miller to play against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Arena on Thursday night after he takes part in a full practice on Wednesday.
Why wouldn’t he? The club needs his help and he knows it.
There’s nothing slowing him down physically at the moment. The team’s leading scorer last season with a career-high 103 points and Vancouver’s top producer in three of the last five seasons hasn’t played since November 17th against the Nashville Predators. He left that game early.
Miller had 15 points in 16 games leading up to it. He took a leave of absence for personal reasons.
“I don’t know about Thursday,” coach Rick Tocchet stated on Tuesday morning. “He’s going to practice with the full team, so we’ll get him with a line and get him cooking and go from there. I’ll talk to him, see how he feels, but he’s been skating and he’s anxious to get going on his terms.”
The 31-year-old Ohio native, a former member of the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning, is in his sixth season with the Canucks.
“It’s nice just to have him around, back in the room,” forward Conor Garland said. “He looked good out there, so not much rust. He looked fast, looked energized, kind of like almost when you come back from break a little bit. So, we’re excited just to just have him back in the fold.”
Miller has plenty to look forward to, not only trying to help the Canucks lock down a playoff spot while moving up in the standings, but also representing Team USA in the Four Nation’s Cup in February. The 13-year NHL veteran was officially named to the squad a week ago.
Miller won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
For now, Canucks fans can look forward to chanting his name in earnest, with Miller actually in attendance. The Vancouver faithful at Rogers Arena have made a recent habit of serenading him in his absence.
The most uncomfortable part for Miller will be having to talk about his return to the Vancouver media, a group he generally despises.
