The Canucks will start their 2021 NHL season without forward J.T. Miller

Coronavirus concerns will force the Vancouver Canucks to start the season without one of their star forwards. What does this mean moving forward?

When it rains, it pours…

The Vancouver Canucks received some troubling news just one day before the start of the 2021 NHL season. Elias Pettersson and the gang will march into Rogers Place tonight without their leading scorer and one of their top-six defenceman.

As reported by TSN 1040’s Matthew Sekeres, the Canucks will be without J.T. Miller and Jordie Benn for up to 2 weeks. Both players are quarantining right now at Benn’s residence in Vancouver.

More information continued to surface yesterday following the update. TSN’s Canucks insider, Rick Dhaliwal, was quick to add to the story confirming that Miller was quarantining due to ‘close contact.’

This all started on Sunday when the Canucks cancelled practice due to potential exposure to the virus. The kicker here was that the Canucks hit the ice the following day after Benn’s false-positive came back negative. In that practice, Benn wasn’t in the building, but Miller was fully participating with the team.

Looking into this a little further, Patrick Johnston of The Province was able to shed light on the situation surrounding all the new details of a COVID-19 season. Here’s how their absence could be extended because of the team’s season-opening road trip:

The Canucks likely won’t see Miller or Benn back in their lineup until at least next Wednesday when they return home to take on the Montreal Canadiens in a three-game series. That’s only four games, but in a 56-game condensed season, that adds up quickly.

What it means for the top line

Bo Horvat and the Canucks will take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers two times before travelling to Calgary where Thatcher Demko will be eager to take on his old mentor, Jacob Markstrom.

As it was seen in practice yesterday, Jake Virtanen could be awarded the top-line position riding shotgun with Pettersson and Brock Boeser. The line has done some excellent work offensively in the past, but in a post-practice presser, Boeser made it known that the trio needs to be better in the defensive end.

"“We had a game together last year in Pittsburgh. I thought we played well except defensively it wasn’t our greatest game. I think that if Jake is playing with us then we are going to have to make sure we are responsible in our own zone and then continue to have that work ethic to create chances for our team.”"

Travis Green will need to trust in Boeser’s words and give them a chance to be successful. Green’s been a big supporter of Brock and he knows he’s the type of player who can take over a game. He’s been flying under the radar a bit this past year or so, but Green is confident in his abilities.

"“I like how Brock looks right now. I haven’t been asked a lot of questions about Brock, which is maybe a good thing. He’s just becoming a very good hockey player who is learning how to be a good pro. He looks a little quicker to me. His shot release, I think he’s worked on that. You saw the goal he scored in the scrimmage with the half slapper down the wall. He looks a little more fluid. He’s got a strong understanding of different parts of the game that nobody talks about. I can see that and he takes pride in that. That’s the evolution of a young player not just becoming a good player in the league, but becoming a good player in the league who understands what it takes to win. I think he’s really come along nicely in that area. He’s a humble kid who works hard. We are lucky to have him.”"

Green went on to discuss how he’s learned to give Boeser freedom with the puck in a similar way to what he does with Pettersson. The two players are incredibly gifted hockey players who can make a difference night in and night out. It’ll be interesting to see how the pair performs next to Virtanen.

What it means for the blueline

Benn will be unavailable for the first four games of the season, but it’s unclear if that changes how Green was planning to deploy his pairings tonight. In training camp, Benn has been a bit of an extra skater.

He was a stop-gap for Travis Hamonic’s arrival next to Quinn Hughes. Alex Edler and Nate Schmidt are destined to play together this season, and Olli Juolevi and Tyler Myers appear joint at the hip.

If anything, Benn could have slotted in for Hamonic until he gets up to speed, but all in all, not much should change for Vancouver’s blueline. They’ll be down a depth defender, but in a season where each team has the luxury of a taxi squad, the Canucks should be fine.

Players like Jack Rathbone, Brogan Rafferty and Jalen Chatfield are chomping at the bit to get into some NHL action.

Final thoughts…

In Miller’s absence, Vancouver’s youth will get an opportunity to shine. In fact, Nils Hoglander could see some time on the first power play unit as he skated there in the team’s final practice yesterday. Talk about a dream come true for the young Swede.

Hockey is back, baby! It all begins at 7 PM tonight.