JT Miller has been absent from the Vancouver Canucks’ lineup for one week, as a week ago today, he took a step away from the team due to personal reasons. Ahead of the club’s second game of their current six-game road trip, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre spoke with Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin, who gave an update on Miller:

“First and foremost, I’m very proud of JT for seeking help,” Allvin said. “I don’t know if he said it, but I believe that he’s going to be a better person, better teammate and better hockey player when he returns. And we sure miss him. He’s such an impactful hockey player, and I think we have and [the] league has all the right support to help him.”

Before his personal leave, Miller was having a solid season. He shares the team lead in goals (6) and assists (10) but leads the forward group in points (16) in 17 games. The Ohio native is coming off a career year where he hit the century mark for the first time in his career with 37 goals and 66 assists for 103 points in 81 games played.

Since his absence, the Canucks dropped their first match 4-3 against the New York Rangers but avenged that loss with a 4-3 win of their own against the Ottawa Senators. The Jake DeBrusk-Elias Pettersson-Kiefer Sherwood line has carried the load offensively in Miller’s absence, as the trio combines for 10 of the 21 points for a Canucks player in those two games.

The Vancouver Canucks carry on their six-game road trip tonight as they take on the Boston Bruins. The club held onto a victory on Saturday night despite missing three of their top four skaters: JT Miller (personal), Brock Boeser (injury) and Quinn Hughes (ejection). Miller’s usual running mate, Brock Boeser, will return to the lineup tonight against the Bruins. He has been out for the past seven games due to an upper-body injury.

There is no exact timetable for when Miller will return to the Canucks’ lineup. However, his return is not expected on this six-game road trip and may extend into their six-game homestand once the club returns home on December 6th.