“It’s a bit of a s*** show” – J.T. Miller optimistic about team direction despite Canucks missing 2023 playoffs

J.T. Miller states that the team condition has been better since the last few games and things are slowly returning to normal despite the Canucks missing the 2023 playoff run.

<strong>“It’s a bit of a s*** show” – J.T. Miller optimistic about team direction despite Canucks missing 2023 playoffs</strong>

J.T. Miller [Image Credit: The Hockey News]

Vancouver Canucks alternate captain J.T. Miller is optimistic about the team’s direction following its disastrous start of the 2022-23 season. Things have been changing in a new direction after Rick Tocchet joined the group. New tactics, new additions, and win records have brought about a fresh change within the team’s dressing room.

Miller stated that earlier there was constant pressure in the dressing room and it seemed depressing. Now, there’s a positive air about the locker room, and Miller can see the team going for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff run. Unfortunately, their poor start of the season has forced the team to give up on a playoff spot, for 7th time in eight seasons.

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The 2022-23 season has seen a lot of changes, especially for the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks lost their coach Bruce Boudreau earlier in 2023, while the captain Bo Horvat joined New York Islanders. There was a severe uproar on Horvata and Boudreau leaving, while some thought the Canucks core was falling apart. 

Related: “Hit him as hard as I can” – J.T. Miller sets aside friendship as Canucks get ready to face ex-captain Bo Horvat at UBS Arena

J.T. Miller is optimistic about making playoffs next season

J.T. Miller
J.T. Miller

Despite the various challenges, J.T. Miller states that the team locker room has now become a place for fun and relaxation, rather than a tense room to be in. On Tuesday, he told the reporters, “This wasn’t too fun of a place to be in the beginning, mid part of the year”. 

“It’s a bit of a s—t show, sorry for swearing but it really was. A lot of distraction. I think that we’ve kind of moved on as a team, we understand who we’re going to be for the most part moving forward. It’s fun to come to the rink again. It’s very fresh around here.”

Under Bruce Boudreau, the team recorded 18-25-3 this season, which prompted the organization head to make shifts. Boudreau got fired from the Cancuks on January 22, bringing in a lot of hate for the team and its staff. The enraged fans took to social media and even players and experts from different fields took notice of the storm.

Despite protests and taunting, the team successfully signed Rick Tocchet and his people into the Canucks family for a change. So far, some of the changes have been visible as the team won matches losing their losing streak. They had become the first NHL team to lose 4 straight games after holding leads in each contest.

Now with Tocchet in the picture, the team marked a record of going 10-7-2 in 19 games, winning 4 straight in them. Selected by the New York Rangers in the 2011 National Hockey League draft, Jonathan Tanner Miller signed a 7-year $56 million extension which is said to kick in next season.

This season, Miller recorded 24 goals and 60 points in 64 games. The team is set to miss the 2023 playoffs beginning in April. Despite this, the team’s alternate captain is confident that Canucks will make their playoff appearance in the next run.

He said, “The main part, we’re playing well as a group”. “It’s not really about wins or losses at the end of the day right now, it’s about enjoying the process of getting better as a group, having good habits and being accountable. We’re starting to do that and I think the results are showing as well.”

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