PITTSBURGH -- When the United States put J.T. Miller on its roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Wednesday, it indicated confidence that he will return relatively soon from his leave of absence from the Vancouver Canucks.
“Absolutely,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said after the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction Wednesday night.
Miller has not played for Vancouver since Nov. 17 for personal reasons and has missed seven games.
There is still no timeline for his return, but Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will play in the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20. Miller would have to return to the Canucks well ahead of that to be ready for the tournament.
Allvin said he had been in contact with Bill Guerin, the general manager of the Minnesota Wild and the United States for the tournament, and he expected Miller to make the United States roster.
“As we said before, as an organization, we’re supporting J.T. going through this,” Allvin said. “I believe he’s going to come back as a better player and make our team better. Over the last three, four years, J.T. Miller has been one of the top players in the League. His playoff performance last year … I’m not surprised.”
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Miller has 300 points (107 goals, 193 assists) in 259 games, 12th in the NHL and third among players born in the United States.
The 31-year-old center had 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 13 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, tied for the Canucks lead with forward Brock Boeser who had seven goals and five assists in 12 games.
Miller has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 17 games this season. When his leave of absence began, he was tied for the Vancouver lead in goals with Boeser and forwards Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter. He was two points behind defenseman Quinn Hughes (three goals, 15 assists) for the Canucks scoring lead.
“I have spoken to J.T.,” Guerin said. “J.T. is a wonderful guy, a high-end competitor, a high-end player. I don’t know the specifics of what he is going through, but I do know when you are going through something like that and you need a leave of absence, what you need is support, people behind you and people in your corner, and that’s what we are. We are behind J.T. Miller, and we are there for him, and he’s going to be a part of this team and a big part."
