Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced on Tuesday that forward J.T. Miller will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Allvin said ahead of the team’s morning skate for their game against the New York Rangers tonight. “Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”
The announcement comes days after the star forward was benched during the third period of Vancouver’s loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday night. Head coach Rick Tocchet bluntly explained the decision, saying: “I just went with the guys that I thought could get us back in the game.”
After setting career-highs with 37 goals and 103 points for the Canucks in 2023-24, Miller has had an up-and-down start to the season. Though his six goals and 16 points through 17 games appears to be solid at first glance, Miller’s season has been a mix of games where he looks like his usual self and others where he’s almost invisible.
Given the context and how vague the announcement was, there was plenty of speculation among fans about why Miller was taking time away from the team. Patrick Johnston of The Province provided some clarity on the situation, reporting on BlueSky that Miller’s absence is about giving the player a chance to re-set mentally.
“Been told that J.T. Miller’s personal leave is not related to substance or alcohol abuse or anything at all like that. It’s about giving the player a chance to re-set himself mentally. We know he is obsessed with competing at 100 per cent and we can see he hasn’t been. That’s been weighing on him.”
The Canucks currently sit in third place in the Pacific Division with a 9-5-3 record. It’s been a decent start for Vancouver, but they haven’t been as hot as they were to start the 2023-24 campaign, in which they hammered the Oilers 8-1 on opening night and had an 11-3-1 record after 15 games.
Mar 7, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Alex Ovechkin sidelined week-to-week with leg injury

The Washington Capitals announced on Tuesday that captain Alex Ovechkin sustained a lower-leg injury during the team’s game against the Utah Hockey Club the previous night. The team is listing him as week-to-week and they’ll have a further update after he undergoes further evaluations in Washington on Wednesday.
During the third period, Ovechkin fell awkwardly to the ice following a knee-on-knee collision with Utah HC defender Jack McBain. The 39-year-old was assisted off the ice and didn’t return to the game.
This is unfortunate timing for Ovechkin as he’s closing in on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record. After scoring a modest 31 goals in 79 games last season, the future Hall of Famer got off to a blazing start in 2024-25 with a league-leading 15 goals in his first 18 games. He scored two goals in the first two periods against Utah and was looking for his second hat trick in as many games before getting injured.
With 868 goals in his career, Ovechkin is 26 away from Gretzky’s previously untouchable record of 894. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2004 draft, the Moscow native has scored 1,575 points over 1,444 NHL games. He’s won the Hart Trophy three times, the Rocket Richard Trophy nine times, and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for leading the Caps to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2018.
The Capitals (13-4-1) sit first in the Metropolitan in points, one ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. Washington is scheduled to host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.