“It’s just easier to win games if you’re giving up less. “Your word, sustainable, I mean, this is the way,” he said. But nobody looked more transformed than Miller. He said everyone looked better under Tocchet, who introduced accountability and defensive priorities. It was a turning point for Miller, although the turning point for the team came later.įorced by the Bo Horvat trade to return to centre from left wing, Miller had 41 points in 35 games under Tocchet, won 57 per cent of his faceoffs, was plus-nine and led Vancouver in five-on-five Corsi (54.8%) and shot-share (55.5) despite having one of the lowest PDOs (the sum of on-ice team shooting percentage and save percentage) on the Canucks.
Miller was roasted by Hockey-Night-in-Canada panelists Elliotte Friedman, Kevin Bieksa and Kelly Hrudey. All the criticism for the second was warranted. And in the next, he turned over the puck and quit on a backcheck.Ī lot of criticism for the first offence was silly. In the first game, he slammed his stick over the net (while possessing the puck) to get goalie Collin Delia to scurry to the bench for an extra attacker. The “low-point” for Miller was a two-game sequence at the end of December during road losses to the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. There’s going to be parts of next year that people don’t like either, but I’m trying to make it as little as possible.” low point for me, I think the way I responded says enough about my character. But my character is to push through and bring my game a lot of nights, and I thought that after the.
This was really hard for me, to be honest with you. “If my character was ever questioned - which I’m sure it was - I think (the second half) says a lot. And since we’ve had the fresh start, I’m just playing hockey. I’m not proud of it, but I think that’s what happened. “I just got outside my lane, and then it distracted my work and created bad habits. “I don’t know if you’ve seen a sh– show like (the Canucks’ first half),” Miller told Sportsnet as the Canucks embarked on their final three-game road trip. Miller’s strong finish, when he drove possession for Tocchet and played the best two-way hockey of his life, left him with 32 goals and 82 points – frustrating skeptics who said he’d never be a point-a-game player again after his 99-point campaign a year ago.īut his new contract and its initial full no-movement clause doesn’t begin until July 1, and the player from Ohio is sure to hear a lot more trade conjecture before then.Ībout this, Miller doesn’t care. Both recovered after months of melodrama ended with Rick Tocchet replacing Bruce Boudreau as head coach in January, but not nearly soon enough to prevent the Canucks from missing the Stanley Cup tournament for the seventh time in eight years. He is about to start a seven-year, $56-million contract extension that became a flashpoint for fan outrage when both the player and the team stumbled from the starting gate last fall.
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