Trade or injury? J.T. Miller not with Canucks teammates in Dallas today

It’s been a wild past 12 hours in the rumour mill concerning Canucks centre J.T. Miller.

It began with a report from Shayna Goldman, a reporter with The Athletic based out of New York, who was recently first to report details of the Timo Meier trade.

“One name emerging as a potential deadline move over the last day or so is J.T. Miller,” Goldman reported Sunday night. “Will we spot another player join the list of scratches for trade related reasons?”

Canucks play in Dallas tomorrow… will we spot another player join the list of scratches for trade related reasons?

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 27, 2023

Miller isn’t going to play in tonight’s Canucks game in Dallas, but according to the team and his agent, it’s due to an injury — though they differed on the severity of it.

According to a report from CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, agent Brian Bartlett described Miller’s injury as “minor,” and that he “might be out a week or so,” but it is not trade related.

Soon after, the Canucks tweeted that Miller is out “week to week,” which is a term not usually used to describe a minor injury. The team described the injury as “lower body.”

There are just over six weeks remaining in Vancouver’s season.

JT Miller agent Brian Bartlett : "JT has a minor injury, might be out a week or so. JT not playing in Dallas is not trade related at all."

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) February 27, 2023

Canucks F J.T. Miller is out week to week with a lower body injury.

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 27, 2023

Those are three very different explanations for Miller’s absence, so it’ll be interesting to see where the truth lies.

The Canucks have four days to move Miller, if they want to, before Friday’s NHL trade deadline. Miller’s new seven-year, $56 million contract, which includes a no-movement clause, kicks in this summer.

The 29-year-old has 54 points (20-34-54) in 59 games this season, but has been heavily criticized by media and fans for his defensive play. Miller set new career highs in goals (32), assists (67), and points (99) just last season.

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