Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller was absent from NHL.com’s “Super 16” left wing rankings for the Stanley Cup qualifiers.
Last year, Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning received heavy criticism when he sent a first-round pick as part of a package to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward J.T. Miller.
But it didn’t take long for Miller and Benning to prove the critics wrong. The 27-year-old enjoyed a career year with the Canucks, posting 27 goals and 72 points. Not only did he set personal bests, but Miller also led Vancouver in scoring.
Miller turned out to be that “final piece” Vancouver needed to qualify for the postseason. They’ll face the Minnesota Wild in a best-of-five qualifying round to see who goes to the round of 16.
Vancouver’s new star finished 16th in league scoring for the 2019-20 season. And yet, it wasn’t enough to earn any love from NHL.com in their “Super 16” rankings for left wingers in the Stanley Cup qualifiers.
That’s right. Miller didn’t even make the list even though he was just outside the top 10 in league scoring this season..
Johnny Gaudreau (58 points), Gabriel Landeskog (44 points) Taylor Hall (52 points), Teuvo Teravainen (63 points), Filip Forsberg (48 points), David Perron (60 points), Jamie Benn (39 points) and Nikolaj Ehlers (58 points) all finished ahead of Miller.
So yes, it’s quite surprising to see Miller absent from the list.
If these rankings were based on their career accomplishments and bodies of work, then Miller’s snubbing is somewhat understandable. But when a guy posts 72 points and places 16th in scoring, he simply should be in the top 1..
Benn, Gaudreau, Forsberg and Landeskog have been better players throughout their careers. But this season, there’s no doubting that Miller has been a top 10 left winger in the NHL, let alone a top 16.
At any rate, Miller will have the chance to further cement himself as one of the game’s best wingers in a month, when Vancouver resumes their season against Minnesota.