Sports

Facing uncertain future with Canucks, Miller steps up vs. Oilers: ‘He’s a gamer’

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks’ finest participant on Saturday evening might not even be a part of the crew on Sunday.

A few hours after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks had deliberate to carry Miller out of Saturday’s sport till a possible commerce with the New York Rangers both collapsed or hit a snag, the centre who has led together with his coronary heart since coming to Vancouver six years in the past performed a virtuoso shutdown sport in opposition to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

McDavid’s most notable accomplishment was delivering a cross-check to the facet of the pinnacle of Canuck winger Conor Garland within the closing seconds. McDavid and Canuck defenceman Tyler Myers, who equally lumbered Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard in the identical altercation, face suspensions for his or her match penalties.

Miller faces one other day of commerce hypothesis, however with larger gravity than the innumerable different days when the emotional 31-year-old’s future with the Canucks has been fodder for conjecture.

“Yeah, I assume,” Miller advised reporters in a post-game media scrum. “I do not actually know what to say, to be trustworthy. I haven’t got reply for you. I am simply attempting to give attention to sport to sport.”

Requested to replicate on his time with the Canucks, with whom he amassed 103 factors final season and went to Sport 7 of the playoffs’ second spherical, Miller stated: “I am not moving into this. I am planning on being a Canuck as we speak, tomorrow. No matter occurs, occurs. I am centered on the subsequent sport.”

The Canucks don’t play once more till Tuesday in opposition to the Buffalo Sabres.

That looks like a good distance away.

Canuck common supervisor Patrik Allvin and president Jim Rutherford are believed to have been exploring the commerce markets on Miller and Elias Pettersson since Christmas, decided to settle what has been an at-times uneasy coexistence between the celebrities who’re profoundly completely different folks and gamers.

It seems, in keeping with Friedman, that administration has settled on buying and selling Miller, who is sort of six years older than Pettersson, but in addition inexpensive and way more battle-hardened. On Saturday, for instance, it was Miller who was given the highest project of checking McDavid — and Draisaitl when he was moved to the identical line — relatively than Pettersson.

Miller had the primary assists on a pair of first-period targets scored by defenceman Quinn Hughes, logged 10:25 of even-strength ice time in opposition to McDavid and eight:04 in opposition to Draisaitl, and went 18-5 within the faceoff circle.

“I am pleased he was taking part in for us tonight,” Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk stated. “I have been right here for 45 video games. You recognize, I signed right here (from Boston as a free agent) for a purpose. I signed right here to both play with Millsy or Elias. My important factor was to play with these two guys. So I do not need (a commerce) to occur. I do not need them to go away.

“Like I stated, I am 40-something video games in however I wish to play at the very least 82 after which a playoff run with them, after which we’ll see what all people says.”

Hughes, the Canucks captain, stated he was conscious of the pre-game commerce studies concerning Miller.

“In fact, I am conscious,” Hughes stated. “I believe that is a part of my job to concentrate on issues like that and simply have really feel for what is going on on. However, , by every little thing, I believed everybody performed wonderful. And particularly Millsy, the way in which he performed in opposition to that line, particularly within the third, , he is actually aggressive. He is a gamer, so it was good to see.”

Miller has been considered one of Hughes’ mentors, arriving in commerce on the similar time Hughes joined the Canucks in 2019.

“I imply, during the last bunch of years, six years it has been, he is a man that is all the time going to compete, and present up,” Hughes stated. “Quite a lot of ardour, numerous care. You recognize, like when McDavid and Draisaitl, two of the most effective three gamers on the earth are on the town, he’ll be able to go. He needs that problem, and he is up for it, as you noticed tonight.”

Commerce discussions involving the Canucks’ finest gamers are merchandise of what has been a tumultuous, inconsistent season up to now for a crew that has Stanley Cup aspirations.

However it positive appeared like a successful crew on Saturday, and a determined one after consecutive blowout losses this week to the Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings by an combination rating of 11-2.

They constructed a 3-0 lead within the first interval on Hughes’ power-play targets and one by Danton Heinen at even energy, and dominated the Oilers for stretches. And after Draisaitl scored a pair of targets for Edmonton within the second interval, considered one of them on the ability play, Vancouver yielded simply three third-period pictures to one of many NHL’s most harmful groups.

The Oilers’ 15 pictures had been their lowest in a sport this season — by six pictures.

“I believe everybody right here is worked up,” Hughes stated. “It is a huge one. We would have liked it and it reveals numerous character in our group, particularly with all of the stuff that is been, , going across the final couple of weeks.”

Defenceman Carson Soucy stated the noise “takes your thoughts off the final word objective of playoffs and successful within the playoffs. . . realizing that this may not be our closing group. It simply type of generally feels such as you’re ready a bit of bit. However I believe tonight was only a reminder that we have an ideal group that may win huge video games in opposition to good groups. I simply cannot reward J.T. sufficient. He simply had an enormous sport for us.

“We had been attempting to stay with simply type of enterprise as traditional, and I believe he did an ideal job tonight. He had good vitality, he was constructive. I do know it is acquired to be powerful for him, simply type of with the noise for him particularly. We simply wished to remind him that we’re nonetheless teammates, we’re nonetheless going on the market (collectively). I believe he did an ideal job tonight simply type of being current as a Canuck.”

Requested if he stated something to Miller earlier than the sport, Soucy stated: “I want I knew what to say. He is been a warrior for this crew, for positive. We depend on him lots.”


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