According to Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, it is possible that star forward J.T. Miller, who has been on a personal leave of absence since Nov. 19, could return on Thursday night for the Canucks game against the Florida Panthers.
Miller, 31, last played in a 5-3 Canucks loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 17--a game in which he played a Canucks career-low 11:41 and spent the game's final moments on the bench despite the team needing goals to come back and try to tie it up.
"I'll talk to Millsy tonight or something. Maybe in the morning we'll talk. Anything is a possibility," Tocchet said of J.T. Miller after the Canucks practiced on Wednesday. "Right now, he just had a good day.
"He's getting close. . . He's doing really well. We'll just kind of chip away and see what happens tomorrow morning."
Prior to being benched in what turned out to be a 5-3 loss to Nashville, Miller was riding a three-game point streak for the Canucks that saw him score one goal and four assists. Overall, Miller has six goals, 10 assists, and 16 points in 17 games this season, in addition to a +1 plus-minus rating.
Despite joining the Canucks for practice on Wednesday, it is truly unclear as to whether the versatile star forward is ready to jump into game action or not. Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army reported on Wednesday afternoon that Miller skated as an extra for line rushes, which is typically a good indicator that a player is not in the plans to be in the gameday lineup.
JT Miller appears to be an extra at practice based on early line rushes. And word is that he isn’t quite ready to meet the media and discuss his leave of absence from #Canucks
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 11, 2024
However, as Tocchet noted above, it appears that it is at least possible, in theory, that Miller returns. The Canucks will play three home games against the Panthers, the Boston Bruins, and the Colorado Avalanche, respectively, in the next five days, so there is currently no reason to rush Miller back or for Miller to rush himself back.
It is worth noting that, at the time of this writing, Miller is not included on the Canucks roster, but he can be activated at any given time provided the Canucks leave open one of the three roster spots they currently have available.