Ahead of his return to Rogers Arena since being traded, former Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller spoke to the media about being back in the city he called “home away from home” for six years. Miller, the captain of the New York Rangers, explained that while he knows there’s a task at hand for his team heading into Rogers Arena, his return back to Vancouver has been special.  

“Definitely brought back a lot of feelings when we landed at the airport for sure,” the forward said. 

The Rangers had a day off yesterday, during which Miller tried to see as many people as possible. He noted that his wife and two daughters made the trip out west as well, with plans to see old school friends and teammates. 

“It’s going to be a lot tonight,” he said, noting that having his family in the crowd will also impact his reaction to how tonight unfolds. “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.”

Miller had lots to do during his day off, including seeing some former teammates who he says he’s still close with to this day. One of these players is Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who will not play tonight against New York due to a lower-body injury. 

“I told him I’d rather see him yesterday than today,” Miller quipped, regarding the defenceman’s ability to take over a game offensively for his team. “It kind of sucks, I like playing against him. It’s definitely going to help our chances with him not on the ice, I obviously hope he gets back soon.” 

The former Canuck also spoke on potentially matching up against Elias Pettersson’s line tonight. One of the biggest storylines from last season was the “rift” between Miller and Pettersson, attention on which spiraled out of control during the fall and winter and ultimately became the biggest talking point regarding the team. 

“It’s going to be like all of the rest of them. They have a really good line. I know they’ve been putting some pucks in the net. Nothing changes for me. We have a job to do against them, and I’m sure it’s the same conversation,” he said. “Just like every other game.” 

Miller also spoke on how his time in Vancouver ended, during which it seemed as though the fanbase became divided. Even so, the forward insists that he has moved on, and that he’s ultimately happy with his time in Vancouver. 

“Everything happens — you can’t go back and change anything. Obviously it’s ugly sometimes at the end, but I think for the majority of the time I was here, it’s not all positive, [but] it’s been a lot of good things and 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, but definitely still a lot of friendship and a lot of good memories and a lot of good things that came from that experience, so I’m happy.” 

Now acting as captain of his team, Miller noted that there were “a lot of lessons learned” during his time in Vancouver — now, as captain of the Rangers, he’s looking to apply those to leading the team that once drafted him back in 2011. 

“It’s going to be emotional for me no doubt, just trying to worry about our task at hand for the Rangers. I know the emotion is going to be there, [I’m] just going to try and use it to the best of my ability as I can, just try to stay focused.” 

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