J.T. Miller is set to make his return to Rogers Arena on Tuesday night for the first time since being traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers last January.
From 2019 to 2025, Miller accomplished a lot in Vancouver, as he experienced the best statistical seasons of his NHL career as a member of the Canucks.
During the 2023-24 campaign, Miller recorded a career-high 103 points, with signs that he would only continue to flourish in Vancouver.
However, things quickly went downhill for both Miller and the Canucks.
A reported feud between Miller and Elias Pettersson spread like wildfire within the Canucks organization, and a lot of scrutiny surrounded Miller’s name.
Miller took a ten-game leave of absence early on in the 2024-25 season, and even when he returned to the lineup, his numbers took a drastic dip, and all the noise around the team certainly didn’t make matters any better.
The aftermath of this whole situation saw Miller traded to the Rangers, the start of a new and prosperous era for him.
“Everything happens. You can't go back and change anything," Miller said. "It's ugly sometimes at the end, but I think for the majority of the time I was here, it was positive. I'm not going to sit here and dwell over the way it ended. I didn't expect that to be pretty. And it wasn't.”
Despite ending his tenure in Vancouver on a sour note, Miller cherishes his time with the Canucks organization.
In fact, Miller’s family traveled to Vancouver just for this game. Miller emphasized how much Vancouver means to both him and his family.
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“It’s going to be a lot tonight,” Miller said of his return to Vancouver. “I never said a bad thing about Vancouver when I left. I loved it here, it was like home away from home. The way they treated myself and my family is something we’ll always cherish, and there’s a reason the whole family came back. It’s been a nice couple of days.”
Everything that transpired with Miller and the Canucks organization last season is in the past.
Miller is now the captain of the Rangers, and he has moved with his life and career. He remains grateful for the Vancouver community regardless of how his time there ultimately ended.
"I really don't look into how I was painted," Miller said. "All I care about is my family. At the end of the day, it was the best for both sides. We're moved on. We're so far past that."