We heard it at various points of the Vancouver Canucks’ last two games since returning to Rogers Arena, and we even heard it at WWE’s Survivor Series. But tonight, we heard them directed at the man the chants are actually about.
JT Miller made his highly-anticipated return from his personal leave of absence on Thursday night against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. It didn’t take long for the Canucks faithful to start the chant as he started the game, and the crowd followed with the chant as soon as the puck dropped:
Miller took his leave of absence on November 19th and had missed the following 10 Canucks games. The club went 5-3-2 in his absence, tallying 12 of a possible 20 points. Once the club returned from their six-game road trip, Miller began to skate with Skills and Skating coach Jason Krog away from the team.
He then took part in Tuesday’s morning skate ahead of their match against the St. Louis Blues before returning for his first full practice on Wednesday. And after another morning skate on Thursday, he announced that he would be returning tonight. Here’s what Miller had to say about his thoughts on tonight’s return:
“I’m excited to play. I want to play. And, you know, obviously fun game to play against the defending champion. So just happy to be around the guys and looking forward to tonight.”
Miller touched on what it was like for him to be away from the team for so long:
“Yeah, it sucks, no matter what it’s for. You know, this is the family away from family here, and you miss the guys and I’m just excited to be around them and get back and compete.”
Miller declined to comment on why he was away from the team and informed the media that he would not answer any questions about the topic.
Regardless of the reason he missed time, the team and Canucks fans can all come together in support of Miller, as they did with their warm welcome in Rogers Arena with their chants of ‘JT Miller.’