J.T. Miller will be out for the foreseeable future.
The Canucks forward is taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons, the team announced on Tuesday.
“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Out of respect for J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”
Miller, 31, has 16 points so far this season, which are tied for the second-most on the Canucks.
The Province’s Patrick Johnston reported on BlueSky that Miller’s absence “is not related to substance or alcohol abuse or anything at all like that.”
“It’s about giving the player a chance to re-set himself mentally,” he added. “We know he is obsessed with competing at 100 percent and we can see he hasn’t been. That’s been weighing on him.”
Miller was reportedly benched late in Sunday night’s loss to the Predators and saw just 12 minutes of ice time.
A 13-year NHL veteran, Miller has spent each of the past six seasons in Vancouver.
Miller started his career with the Rangers after being drafted No. 15 overall in the 2011 NHL Draft.
In February 2018, Miller was dealt alongside Ryan McDonagh to the Lightning for two picks, Libor Hájek, Brett Howden and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Miller was set to face his former team on Tuesday night when the Rangers travel to Vancouver to take on the Canucks.
The Canucks will also be without forward Brock Boeser, who is out with an upper-body injury.
After starting out 7-2-3, the Canucks are just 2-3 since Boeser went down on Nov. 7.