Personal struggles lead to Canucks' J.T. Miller taking indefinite leave of absence

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J.T. Miller is obsessed with beating the guy across from him.

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Lately, he hasn’t able to do that. Watching Miller play the past week or two, you can see that the energy and drive that’s usually at the front of everything he does just isn’t there.

If you have suspected he has been dealing with some sort of uncomfortable, nagging injury, you’d be right. If you guessed upper back or neck, you’d also be right. It’s in that area.

That he’s been playing below his own standard has been weighing on him, apparently more than any outside observer realized.

And now the Vancouver Canucks are going to be without a key player on their upcoming eastern road trip, as the NHL team announced Tuesday that Miller is stepping away from hockey for the moment to take an indefinite personal leave of absence.

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“We don’t know when he’ll be back,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said Tuesday morning, after his team took a morning skate in preparation for that night’s game. It’s understood that Miller will likely miss the whole road trip.

The Canucks face the New York Rangers — Miller’s original NHL team — at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night, but Miller won’t be there.

Postmedia understands this personal leave is not related to concerns about substance or alcohol abuse, or anything beyond his struggles to compete so far this season.

It would seem that he was trying to hold an emotional mountain up, but that mountain has come crashing down on his head. And of course he hasn’t performed like the player he believes he can be.

And so now he is taking time away from the team to get himself re-set emotionally, while also getting himself physically well. A player in Miller’s situation would be able to access the tools available in the NHL and player assistance program, but Miller apparently isn’t using that at the moment.

He is also not currently listed on injured reserve, but is also not listed as being on the Canucks’ active roster on the NHL’s database, which implies he has been listed as simply non-roster, making this a bit of an unusual situation.

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“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said in a statement. “Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”

Tocchet said he is a massive believer in Miller.

“He’s played great for me. I’m lucky to have him,” he said. He was critical of Miller’s play after Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators, where Miller was essentially benched in the third period.

But on Tuesday, he said Miller’s leave was not related to the benching.

“Millsy is his worst critic. Guy wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s our eff-you. He’s our emotional leader. He takes it upon himself to do it every night and it’s hard to do,” Tocchet said.

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Tocchet wouldn’t reveal the sequence on how Miller choosing to go on leave came about, such as whether it was the team or the player who initiated the idea, but he did say they spoke on Monday.

Elias Pettersson said Miller is a big presence for the team, and that the whole team was supporting him.

“I think all of us are dealing with stuff. I don’t know, I can’t say I’ve seen stuff, but that’s how it is. People, all of us are dealing with something, I think, but whatever is going on with him we’re all here to support him,” he said.

Miller’s wife, Natalie, recently deleted her Instagram account, but that was just to avoid the crush of nonsensical comments and direct messages that would cascade in at a time like this.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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