JT Miller's status unclear for Canucks opener in Edmonton
A noted poker player, Travis Green was keeping his cards close to his chest after the final practice of training camp today.
The Vancouver Canucks head coach and his team will arrive in Edmonton today, in advance of tomorrow’s season opener against the Oilers. And when the Canucks take to the ice, they might be without their leading scorer.
J.T. Miller was a notable absence from today’s practice, which was also missing Jordie Benn and Jayce Hawryluk. Hawryluk hasn’t practiced with the team since leaving Saturday’s scrimmage with an injury, while Benn missed his second practice in a row.
Asked about why the trio missed practice, Green said only that the players were “unavailable.” He also declined to answer if any of the three players would travel with the team today, saying he was “not sure.”
If Miller has an injury, it’s unclear when or how he sustained it, as he was a full participant in Monday’s practice.
Tuesday’s line combos seemed to suggest that Miller will miss the opener, as Green juggled his lines, moving Jake Virtanen into Miller’s spot next to Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser on the top line. Zack MacEwen filled in Virtanen’s spot on the third line with Adam Gaudette and Antoine Roussel.
If the Canucks expected Miller to play on Wednesday, conventional wisdom would have MacEwen filling in for him as a placeholder, in order to keep Virtanen with his linemates. So read into it as you will.
TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal is reporting that Miller hasn’t sustained a serious injury, so that’s the good news.
‘@DhaliwalSports on #Canucks J.T. Miller missing practice today: Confirmed that whatever it is that caused him to miss practice is not serious. Don’t know how long he’s out but it’s not serious.
— TSN Radio Vancouver (@TSN1040) January 12, 2021
The Canucks cut seven players today, announcing that they’ve sent the following players to Utica: Jonah Gadjovich, Lukas Jasek, Kole Lind, Will Lockwood, Josh Teves, Jett Woo, and Jake Kielly.
All six players placed on waivers yesterday cleared today, namely Loui Eriksson, Sven Baertschi, Justin Bailey, Guillaume Brisebois, Tyler Graovac, and Ashton Sautner.
The final roster is expected to be revealed today.
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