For a guy who wears glasses off the ice, J.T. Miller has impressive vision on the ice. And no, he doesn't wear contacts.
With so many things going right for the Vancouver Canucks to start the season, it’s easy to overlook some of them. For instance, J.T. Miller is currently third in the NHL in scoring with 15 goals and 45 points in 32 games — a 115-point pace.
Miller also leads the NHL in one specific statistic: primary assists, ie. the pass that directly precedes a goal. As much as Miller is billed as a power forward, he’s a natural playmaker with a knack for finding the open man, particularly on the power play.
That’s the thing about Miller’s outstanding scoring outburst this season: he’s not picking up garbage points, like secondary assists where he had little to do with the actual scoring play. Instead, Miller is directly involved.
With 37 primary points — goals plus primary assists — Miller is second behind only Nikita Kucherov, who has 39.
While Miller is piling up points at an unprecedented rate, it’s not unusual for him to have more primary than secondary assists. Over the three seasons prior to this one, Miller had 92 primary assists, tied for tenth in the NHL in that timespan.
Miller’s prowess as a playmaker is the most underrated part of his game, perhaps because he’s not a flashy passer. He’s not typically making blind, backhand saucer passes to set up goals. His approach is far more subtle and utilitarian.
Take this 2-on-1 with Andrei Kuzmenko against the Vegas Golden Knights. Miller doesn’t draw any attention to himself with his pass but it’s a precision saucer pass over Ben Hutton’s stick to land perfectly on Kuzmenko’s blade.
The perfect pass means Kuzmenko doesn’t need to work to control the puck. All he needs to do is catch and release.
Or take this setup to Brock Boeser against the New Jersey Devils. Nils Höglander crashes in on the forecheck to create a potential turnover, then Miller wastes absolutely zero time passing to Boeser when he jumps on the loose puck.
Miller has already spotted where he wants to pass the puck before he gets it, so there’s no hesitation; it’s just perfectly on Boeser’s tape so he can cut to the backhand and score.
Miller is at his most ruthless and yet also most utilitarian on the power play. This slap pass to Filip Hronek is unreal, combining a hard fake shot with a puck perfectly into Hronek’s wheelhouse, but the pass itself almost escapes notice. It fades into the background because it’s just what Miller does.
Then there’s this perfect setup to Elias Pettersson with a pass so quick that Jacob Markstrom doesn’t even move until the puck is in the net. Again, it's not about making the flashiest pass but instead the most efficient pass.
That’s a testament to Miller’s vision, as he’s already got the pass to Pettersson lined up before he receives the puck from Quinn Hughes, and his execution, as he doesn’t sacrifice any accuracy despite the quick play.
Here’s another setup for a Pettersson one-timer that is far better than it initially seems.
It’s not just that Miller puts the puck perfectly into Pettersson’s wheelhouse for the one-timer, it’s that he does it while faking a shot to freeze the goaltender. It’s even a no-look pass, to boot.
Sure, that pass comes at the tail-end of a 5-on-3, with plenty of space to maneuver, but that doesn't take anything away from Miller's excellent execution.
Miller’s playmaking is arguably his biggest strength. It’s time it gets the credit it deserves.
