We had long-term injuries, a lot of players that never played (in) the NHL before, and we're all playing in front of no fans, guys quarantining between 30 and 50 days depending on who it was. I don't want to think about last year when we had six-to-nine guys hurt, almost at all times. “All the stuff that happened, it was just insane, right? I just tried to move on. I don't want to get rid of the fire I just want to control it. I’d like to dial that (back) as a player a little more, but I play on the edge and I have my whole career. It's part of my game I'm trying to clean up, but there was a lot of frustration last year. I've been like that since I was a little kid, so nothing really changed. “Yes, there was more frustration because of how things were going and being on a losing team pretty much the entire season. “You guys could hear a lot more without fans,” the 28-year-old from the Pittsburgh area continued. It wasn't even a question.”Įven in a pre-training camp interview, Miller plays with emotion. “I never once considered not coming back. We've made some big moves coming into this year, we're getting our fans back, a regular schedule, there's a million reasons to be excited.

(But) I was getting some texts, 'What's going on?' I just wanted to set it straight, and I want to be part of this team. I don't pay attention to the rumours I don't really pay attention to the internet at all. “There was a lot of crap going on last year, but once the crap is over, there's going to be something good to come out of it. “I mean, this is the team I'm playing for and I have pride in that,” Miller explained to Sportsnet last week.

No wonder there were reports some players wanted out.īut when Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reached out to Miller in May, after the season, the unhappiest-looking guy on an unhappy team emphatically said he wanted to stay with the Canucks and wasn’t asking for a trade. The roster upheaval, the brutal schedule and lack of practice time, the injuries, pandemic restrictions, empty arenas and, ultimately, the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the league, contributed to the Canucks’ spectacular faceplant. It was about as joyless as Miller made it look and sound.

His nightly F-bombs, stick slams, door crashes and general miserableness filled the sonic void where booing fans should have been as the team staggered to its most disappointing season this century.

VANCOUVER - Without fans, the soundtrack to the Vancouver Canucks’ lost season felt like J.T.

Nhl 19 soundtrack