The Vancouver Canucks are about to begin their 2024-25 season on Wednesday night. For forward JT Miller, though, this game is more than a season-opening contest. Miller will skate in his 800th career game when Vancouver takes the ice against the Calgary Flames.
Miller has certainly had an interesting career up to this point. Over the last three seasons, though, Miller has become one of the better point producers in the league. He has recorded at least 82 points in each of the last three campaigns. And last year, he reached the 100-point plateau for the first time.
Ahead of the Canucks season opener against the Flames, Miller reflected on his career to this point. “The older I get, the more I respect guys that can play for a long time. And super lucky, fortunate, especially health wise, to play in this many games,” Miller said Wednesday morning, via Sportsnet. “There’s a time 10 or 11 years ago when I was just trying to get into the lineup. I feel very, very lucky to be where I’m at. But, obviously, I’ve got a lot of help from coaches and stuff along the way.”
JT Miller, Canucks have high hopes for 2024-25
JT Miller and the Canucks shocked the hockey world in 2023-24. Vancouver entered the season with some question marks regarding their ability to compete with Western Conference contenders. However, those questions quickly went away. The Canucks stormed out of the gate en route to a Pacific Division championship.
Miller helped his team make the playoffs in a major way. He scored a career high 37 goals and 103 points in 2023-24. The East Palestine, Ohio native led the team in points this past season. His 37 goals were good for second on the team behind Brock Boeser, who scored 40 times.
The Canucks met up with the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. It took Vancouver six games to defeat Nashville, and Vancouver received two brutal injuries to their goaltenders. Despite the injuries, the Canucks took the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 in the second round. Unfortunately, they could not overcome Edmonton.
The Canucks certainly have higher hopes for the year ahead. Vancouver believes it has the talent to go on another impressive playoff run. And that starts with their season-opening game against the Flames on Wednesday. It will certainly be interesting to see if Miller can continue to lead his team offensively in 2024-25. And it will be interesting to see if the Canucks can build on their impressive overall performance from the year before.
