The Canucks’ locker room got a whole lot quieter Friday night after J.T. Miller was shipped off to the New York Rangers in a major trade that’s still sending shockwaves through Vancouver.
Team captain Quinn Hughes didn’t hide his emotions when talking about losing his longtime teammate after the Canucks fell 5-3 to Dallas.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of noise the last couple weeks and months,” Hughes told Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy. The young captain’s voice carried the weight of losing someone who’d been more than just another player in the lineup.
Miller and Hughes had spent six years together on the ice – practically Hughes’ entire NHL career so far.
“He’s a heck of a hockey player,” Hughes said, taking a moment to find the right words. “It doesn’t even really seem real right now.”
The trade has hit Hughes particularly hard in his first season wearing the ‘C’. As captain, he’s had to balance his personal feelings with leading the team through a significant roster shake-up.
There is one silver lining – Hughes won’t have to wait long to see his former teammate again. The Canucks face the Rangers in less than a week.
“I’m gonna see him in six, seven days,” Hughes noted, though he admitted it’ll probably take a few weeks for the trade’s reality to fully sink in.
For now, Hughes and the Canucks will need to adjust to life without Miller, who had become one of the team’s emotional leaders both on and off the ice.
