The Vancouver Canucks have been without their leading scorer from last season, JT Miller, since November 19th as he took a personal leave of absence from the team. There is currently no timeline for his return. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple – who covers the New York Rangers – recently wrote about a Canuck that the team recently inquired about:

“A league source said the Rangers recently inquired with the Canucks about J.T. Miller, who is currently on an indefinite leave of absence. Miller was a 2011 first-round pick by the Rangers and has been coveted by Drury before — the Rangers were after Miller before the 2021-22 trade deadline, but wouldn’t include Braden Schneider in a deal. Miller then signed a seven-year extension worth $8-million a year, pulling him off the market.”

It was recently reported that the Rangers were looking to shake up their lineup after an inconsistent start to the season, making players like Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba available for trade. JT Miller was a New York Rangers first-round draft pick in the 2011 draft. They then shipped him to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who then traded him to the Canucks in 2019.

Donnie & Dhali’s Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal touched on this topic during their Friday morning hit:

“Someone told me yesterday New York called for Miller,” Dhaliwal said. “I told the guy you’re out to lunch, get better sources. So, I was trying to confirm it this morning, and someone told me that more than one team has called on Miller.

“This is teams checking in,” Dhaliwal emphasized. “There’s no rule against calling Vancouver. Teams kick tires on players all the time. What did the Rangers announce last week? They want to make a big shake-up; they’re not happy. So, is it a shock? No. The Rangers [are] trying to shake up their hockey club. They’re not happy. So that makes sense.

“This is not Vancouver. I know the Canucks are giving JT all the time and space he needs. This is teams calling Vancouver. This isn’t Vancouver calling teams. And I want to make that very clear. Why the hell would the Canucks call teams when this poor guy is going through what he’s going through [with] this reset, both mental and physical. So this is not Vancouver.”

Dhaliwal ended the trade speculation with this:

“All I can tell you is this is probably teams just calling Vancouver and saying, ‘Hey, if JT becomes available, would you do it [trade] with us?’ I think that’s all it is. Teams are allowed to do that. But this is not Vancouver initiating. This is teams calling Vancouver.”

Dhaliwal had no update in terms JT Miller:

“No, not at all,” Dhaliwal said when asked about an update on the player. “They’re giving him his time and space to clear up the issues that he wants to clear up. And I think that’s the best way to leave it.”

The Canucks are halfway through their Eastern road trip, with games against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, and the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday before returning to Rogers Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets.