J.T. Miller is on a Bure-scoring pace in his Canucks career
J.T. Miller is getting very close to some Vancouver Canucks legends in the franchise history books. The American-born forward is closing in on Pavel Bure’s franchise points mark, and doing so at a similar breakneck pace to what the Russian winger accomplished.
Bure has the best points-per-game mark in team history at 1.12. While fans are often aware of the Russian Rocket’s explosive scoring, they may be surprised to hear that Miller is chugging along at virtually the same pace with 1.11 points per game.
Below are the Canucks all-time leaders for points per game.
| Player | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Points/Game |
| Pavel Bure | 428 | 254 | 224 | 478 | 1.12 |
| J.T. Miller | 361 | 141 | 258 | 399 | 1.11 |
| Elias Pettersson | 403 | 169 | 241 | 410 | 1.02 |
The Canucks have four games left this season. Miller needs nine points over the final stretch to match Bure’s career points-per-game pace before the year is up. He’s currently riding an eight-game point streak as the team fights for the Pacific Division title.
In terms of total points, neither Miller nor fellow teammate Elias Pettersson are that far off Bure’s mark with the club. Both players should challenge the Russian forward’s Canucks total next season, with Miller only needing 79 more points to tie and Pettersson needing 68.
While Miller is putting up points at a similar pace to Bure, they’re coming in different ways. The current-day player is still trailing the former winger’s goal total by more than 100 but has plenty more assists. Miller also has four more power-play points despite playing 67 fewer games.
The American-born forward is also a centre and has taken on a lot of defensive responsibility this season. He’s often matched up against the other team’s top line yet still manages to contribute offensively.
The trade for Miller is turning out to be one of the best in Canucks history. He just reached the 100-point mark for the first time last game against the Vegas Golden Knights and is one of the team’s leaders. While it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, Miller has established himself as a fan favourite this season.
“I downplay everything but it’s pretty special. We have a lot of work to do, and I keep going back to that. I’ll have an extra beer tonight but other than that, it’s going to be maybe something I can enjoy in the summer,” said Miller on Monday about reaching the 100-point milestone. “We have a lot of work to do right now, I’m playing with a lot of really good hockey players on a really good hockey team.”