JT Miller finally admits shortcomings, feels remorse amidst terrible season in Vancouver

In the past months, Vancouver Canucks forward JT Miller got a bad reputation. From the start of the current season, Miller came under the microscope when he expressed frustration towards his own teammates on the ice. Just in late December, Miller was trending on social media when he shouted at goalie Collin Delia to get back the bench for the extra attacker before slamming his stick on the net in anger. There was also that incident that took place between Miller and Luke Schenn during the Vancouver’s home opener on Oct 22. When Miller messed up, Schenn attempted to talk to his teammate, but the forward skated away, which led to both players screaming at each other. It got so heated that Conor Garland had to step in and separate them before getting to the dressing room.

And this is without mentioning the mess involving now former head coach Bruce Boudreau, who’s been replaced by Rick Tocchet. Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reports that Miller is finally recognizing some of his problems.

“There’s been a handful of (negative) moments this year that have really defined my season,” Miller told Sportsnet after the tense practice on Monday. “I understand in this market, this is what you’re going to get. But that’s not my character to play like that.

“There’s plenty of times where I’m hauling my ass on the back check. But the bad ones are bad. Like, I know they are. I’m the guy that’s last up at night thinking about that. I’m not thinking about what everybody’s going to say. Whether it’s the end of a shift or this or that, I know what I did. It’s not me saying, ‘Screw that, I don’t care.’ No, that’s just me, like, so in my own head that it’s like it turns into a blackout for a very brief amount of time.

“I’m still a leader on the team here. And leading by example is not doing that and I fully understand that. It’s been something on my chest all year because I feel like I’ve been kind of typecast for what kind of player I’ve been this year. But it’s just been a handful of moments.”

Tocchet understands that Miller is an emotional player, and might be able to help him channel that emotion better.

“It’s okay to have emotion on the bench and tell your linemate ‘let’s go.’ But I think on the ice, you’ve got to be careful of your body language. That’s not an indictment on J.T.; I’m just saying you can’t start backchecking because you’re mad at somebody,” Tocchet stated.

Miller is looking to change, showing remorse for how he acted in the past, at times when things are already pretty messy in the dressing room.

“I don’t want that to happen again because I’m trying to teach guys how to play the right way on this team, and that ain’t it,” Miller said Monday. “So I completely understand. It’s been something on my mind and it’s something I’m trying to work on.

“There’s been a handful of moments that I’ve made bad decisions based on my emotions taking over. Yes, there have been some times where that has become bad habit, and I think it comes with, like you said, the shitshow we’re in and losing games and feeling like it’s Game 7 every night. It’s just emotional for me.”

If Miller is serious about changing his attitude, many more positive will come out at a time the Canucks need it most.

“Just trying to look in the mirror at how can I be better on the ice, how can I be a better leader, how can I control my emotions better?” Miller added. “At the same time, it’s hard. It’s very, very hard when I play with a lot of emotion to keep it completely under control. But at the end of the day, it has revolved around playing the right way and winning hockey games. And when we’re not getting those results. . . I’m mad at myself 99 per cent of the time, no matter how it may come off.”

Let’s see how Miller handles the rest of the season, now under Tocchet.

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