J.T. Miller had been through it before, and recognized that being traded was an occupational hazard.
So while a lot of people were surprised when Tampa Bay dealt him to Vancouver June 22 for a package headlined by a first-round draft choice in 2020, Miller pretty much took the move in stride.
"I know that's part of the business," he said after Vancouver's game-day skate at PPG Paints Arena. "And I had time to prepare myself for it."
If the change was in disruptive in any way, it hasn't been reflected by his play during the first two months of the season, during which Miller has been among the Canucks' most productive players.
"I've been given a great opportunity by them," he said. "I'm just trying to make the most of it."
So far, he has. Miller, a native of East Palestine, Ohio who later moved to Coraopolis, has done just that. He enters Vancouver's game against the Penguins tonight at 7:08 with 10 goals and 14 assists in 25 games, making him the 14th player in franchise history to get 24 or more points in his first 25 regular-season games with Vancouver.
"I'm playing a lot of minutes, so that helps," Miller said. "Obviously, I'm surrounded by a lot of great players."
He is just five points behind Elias Pettersson in the team scoring race, and has established himself as an integral part of the Canucks' offense.
"He plays hard, first of all," coach Travis Green said. "He's got good skill. He's fast. He's strong. He does a lot of good things. He's been a good player for us."
Miller said he will be performing before a contingent of family and friends this evening, and that he still enjoys business trips to Western Pennsylvania.
"I love coming home," he said. "It's nice to go to the house the night before (a game) and maybe have dinner with friends and some family. It always means a lot to me, coming back."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Matt Murray will be in goal for the Penguins tonight after Tristan Jarry started the previous two games. Although Vancouver is the only opponent against which Murray has two shutouts since breaking into the NHL, Mike Sullivan said his history of good play against the Canucks was not a major factor in deciding to play him tonight. "We do keep the records of everybody (against other teams)," Sullivan said. "I'm not sure it really impacts a decision like today, for example. ... In this instance, I'm not sure the body of work is big enough to make any sort of assessment there. We don't play Vancouver nearly enough times."
• Green's scouting report on the Penguins: "This, for me, is one of the better teams in the league right now. I know (Sidney Crosby) is not in (the lineup), but they look like a fast team that works really hard. When you have that commitment throughout your lineup, good things happen."
• Canucks center Brandon Sutter, formerly of the Penguins, is expected to miss his seventh consecutive game tonight because of a groin injury, although Green declined to discuss the makeup of his lineup. He did, however, say that Sutter has become "a big part" of the Canucks' leadership group. "He's been in the league a while now, and he understands a lot of different things, different parts of the game that younger players maybe don't," Green said. "Not just on the ice, but off the ice, as well." Sutter appeared in his 700th career game Nov. 8, making him the ninth player from the draft class of 2007 -- and the sixth member of the Sutter family -- to reach that milestone.
• Defensemen Zach Trotman and Juuso Riikola, both of whom are expected to be scratched tonight, and the goalies were the only Penguins to go on the ice this morning.
• Left winger Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 12 goals, and history suggests there's a pretty good chance he'll add to that total this evening. Guentzel has at least one point in each of his six career games against Vancouver, with six goals and three assists. Those totals include four goals in three games at PPG Paints Arena.
• Tanner Pearson had a strong start with the Penguins after they acquired him from Los Angeles in the Carl Hagelin trade, but then sputtered and was traded to Vancouver, where he seems to be settling in. "Last year was kind of crazy, ever since I got here last year, things seemed to click," said Pearson, who added that "I really enjoyed my time here. Great organization, but things didn't work out. That's the way it goes sometimes."
That doesn't seem to be the case in Vancouver, where he has five goals and seven assists in 25 games while filling a variety of roles. "We like Pearson a lot," Green said. "He plays a good, hard-working, honest game."
• Sixteen players participated in the Canucks' optional game-day skate.
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