Vancouver Canucks: Who could replace Brock Boeser on top line?

Realistic: J.T. Miller

When J.T. Miller was acquired by the Canucks on day two of the NHL dtaft, the fan base had largely mixed reviews. While the cost of a future first round pick was steep, the strengths Miller brought to the Canucks were hard to ignore.

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While officially listed as a centre on NHL.com, the 26 year-old Miller brings experience playing all three forward positions, both up and down the lineup.

His versatility saw him play parts of last season alongside Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos on the Lightning’s first line, and at other times with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn on the third line.

Miller proved to be both a play driver and complimentary piece, which makes him an intriguing option to stand in for Boeser on the first line.

A pass-first player like Miller, who posted 34 assists last season, could highly compliment the line in his ability to create space and provide Pettersson with more opportunities to shoot.

It is, however, worth noting that Miller’s addition to the first-line would create a ripple effect into the second line. With that said, it has been proven that Bo Horvat can hold his own centering a line of Pearson, whom he showed through the latter stages of last season to have chemistry with, and Sven Baertschi, a consistent lineman of Horvat’s over the last few seasons.