Welcome back to Stars of the Week here at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
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It’s been a quiet week, hasn’t it? Three games, two wins, one loss. Certainly, nothing else of note happened with the Canucks, right?
 Let’s just get right into it.
<h3>J.T. Miller</h3>
For the last time, folks, J.T. Miller is your first star of the week.
<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-officially-announce-jt-miller-trade-new-york-rangers">Miller’s trade to the New York Rangers on Friday night</a> was a shock to no one. Well, maybe to some, but only if you enjoyed putting your head in the sand and avoiding the team&#8217;s <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/jim-rutherford-elias-pettersson-jt-miller-rift-no-good-solution-keep-vancouver-canucks-core-together">&#8216;unsolvable&#8217;</a> problems. Miller’s name mixed in with a trade has been occurring the entire season, and in reality, for over two years, if we’re going back to when ruminations of a Miller return to the Rangers first began to circulate. 
His final great performance as a Canuck perhaps came on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues.
Shall we get misty-eyed as we watch Miller’s final fight, dropping the gloves with Brayden Schenn right off the faceoff dot? Or might we remember him fondly by his final power play goal?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Brayden Schenn and J.T. Miller dropped the gloves right off the face-off 😳 <a href="https://t.co/LEKPT1Wxin">pic.twitter.com/LEKPT1Wxin</a>
&mdash; B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1884041854888411429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Quinn Hughes makes an incredible stretch pass to find J.T. Miller and he rips a shot past Jordan Binnington! 
It&#39;s 3-0 Canucks! 
🎥: Prime Video | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stlblues?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#stlblues</a> <a href="https://t.co/1TiUcqxNYF">pic.twitter.com/1TiUcqxNYF</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884058132114202782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This game showed the parts of J.T. Miller that I appreciated the most, and not, perhaps, the on-ice and off-ice downsides that resulted in his departure.
On Saturday afternoon, Miller also scored twice against the Boston Bruins in his debut return to the Rangers. I know this is three Canucks stars of the week, but given he had been a Canuck less than 24 hours before this game, I’ll give him a pass. Hopefully, this is a sign of the trade being a good fit and the Canucks being able to move on without being dragged down by their own history.
There’s a lot you can say about Miller’s tenure, ‘controversial’ barely scratching the surface. ‘Complex,’ I think, is the word I would prefer to use. Everyone has a different opinion, but it is hard to say that Miller was not a part of the heart and soul of the team for so long. Miller and his wife, Natalie, who was active with the Canucks For Kids fund and other local charities, also led the Cloud 9 initiative this year, which <a href="https://x.com/RodMakeKidsBald/status/1885570634211877195">assisted childhood cancer patients</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fierce_for_harley/p/DEYzz0wxmAT/?img_index=1">brought them to Canucks games in their suite</a>. It is hard to say that the Millers did not give one hundred percent to the city of Vancouver and the Canucks.
Sometimes, it’s best for everyone to move on – and in his case, likely closing out his playing career with the team that drafted him all those years ago is quite the poetic touch. Best of luck to you, J.T. 
<h3>Pius Suter</h3>
Pius Suter had a three-point week – two goals came with special teams and an assist at even strength. For a centre who I normally keep an eye on for his defensive game and work in the faceoff dot, his scoring success this year has just been the cherry on top. 
A shorthanded goal against the flailing St. Louis Blues came thanks to an absolute clutch pass from Tyler Myers, which he looked just as surprised to score as I did watching it. Next, his power play empty net goal against the Nashville Predators still counts, even if, in those circumstances, it’s like taking candy from a baby. And, what do you know, this goal would be J.T. Miller’s last-ever point as a Canuck. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Pius Suter scores his first goal in 24 games! It&#39;s 4-1 Canucks!
🎥: Prime Video | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stlblues?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#stlblues</a> <a href="https://t.co/72DPYsJ7HE">pic.twitter.com/72DPYsJ7HE</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884061729862344867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Pius Suter puts the puck into the empty net! It&#39;s 3-1 Canucks! 
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smashville?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Smashville</a> <a href="https://t.co/oNuv0Qf2XQ">pic.twitter.com/oNuv0Qf2XQ</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884821969633186267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3>Conor Garland</h3>
Garland’s game was sharp this week, his two-goal performance against the Blues being a definite highlight. Despite a drop-off in the win against Nashville with just one shot on goal, he showed out again with a goal against the Dallas Stars despite the team dropping the game 5-3. 
The pass heard around the world from Quinn Hughes under Blues defenceman Ryan Suter for Garland to score the goal is just a perfect example of the chemistry between these two and, quite frankly, just a hilarious goal to watch on repeat. This is one that I will be remembering long after this season. It has the entertainment value of a Saturday morning cartoon. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Quinn Hughes threading the needle to find Conor Garland. What a pass.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stlblues?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#stlblues</a> <a href="https://t.co/DKyQlmB8on">pic.twitter.com/DKyQlmB8on</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884043211506885040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Candidly, the Canucks had a difficult time against the Stars. Dallas is a sizzling team in the midst of a winning streak, and the Canucks had just learned that their long-time teammate and friend had been traded within an hour of puck drop. That is not the best recipe for a fair matchup. For a distracted performance, it could have been so much worse than a 5-3 game, and Garland scoring the first Canucks goal in the second while things were up in flames behind the scenes was integral, even just for morale alone. Despite the roster changes on Friday, they had a job to do.
<h3>Honourable Mentions</h3>
Given the series of events and games played this week, there are more honourable mentions than stars themselves. Bear with me for some firsts and final send-offs. 
Vincent Desharnais
You didn’t always do a lot, and you didn’t always do it well, but you’ll be missed for your good vibes and the inches you singlehandedly added to the roster’s average height. Until we meet again, old friend.
Danton Heinen
Heinen did not work out perhaps as much as was hoped, but he was fine. He was just fine! A penalty killer who offered up depth scoring seemed like a great pickup. Effectively swapping him out for Drew O’Connor, another middle-to-bottom six forward with a rather similar profile, makes sense. O’Connor is a few years younger than Heinen and on an expiring two-year deal with only a $925,000 annual cap hit, compared to the two-year $2.25 million a year deal Heinen signed on July 1st last year. This year, Heinen has 18 points (6G 12A) in 51 games to O’Connor’s 16 (6G 10A). Mind you, the Pittsburgh Penguins are sliding headfirst into a rebuild that no one will call a rebuild, with an even worse goal differential than the Canucks. O’Connor also kills penalties and has played centre at times, but will more than likely stay on the wing while the Canucks continue to search for some more win-now value centre depth. 
Similar to Miller, Heinen returns to a former team, the Penguins, for whom he’s already played 141 career games. Some of my favourite Heinen moments as a Canuck, in no particular order, are:
The time he scored two goals in a lopsided 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The time in December he got into his first-ever professional career fight.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> Danton Heinen is in the Festivus spirit
He records his first fight &quot;AKA: Rumble&quot; in his professional hockey career (AHL or NHL) <a href="https://t.co/0Lb2Wo6uAW">pic.twitter.com/0Lb2Wo6uAW</a>
&mdash; Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1871400478007058840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Erik Brännström
Brännström deserved better than consistent scratches, but as a true #BrännströmTruther, I am sad to see him go.
That said, Marcus Pettersson and Victor Mancini are more than worth it for the long and the short term.
Linus Karlsson
After 10 Vancouver games played and 149 with Abbotsford, Karlsson netted his very first NHL goal with the parent club. How about that?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Linus Karlsson scores his first NHL goal on a great feed from Tyler Myers! 
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Smashville?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Smashville</a> <a href="https://t.co/nn9GCdBnaI">pic.twitter.com/nn9GCdBnaI</a>
&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884801463102189791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Welcome back to Stars of the Week here at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
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&nbsp;

It’s been a quiet week, hasn’t it? Three games, two wins, one loss. Certainly, nothing else of note happened with the Canucks, right?

 Let’s just get right into it.
<h3>J.T. Miller</h3>
For the last time, folks, J.T. Miller is your first star of the week.

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-officially-announce-jt-miller-trade-new-york-rangers">Miller’s trade to the New York Rangers on Friday night</a> was a shock to no one. Well, maybe to some, but only if you enjoyed putting your head in the sand and avoiding the team's <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/jim-rutherford-elias-pettersson-jt-miller-rift-no-good-solution-keep-vancouver-canucks-core-together">'unsolvable'</a> problems. Miller’s name mixed in with a trade has been occurring the entire season, and in reality, for over two years, if we’re going back to when ruminations of a Miller return to the Rangers first began to circulate. 

His final great performance as a Canuck perhaps came on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues.

Shall we get misty-eyed as we watch Miller’s final fight, dropping the gloves with Brayden Schenn right off the faceoff dot? Or might we remember him fondly by his final power play goal?

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1884041854888411429

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884058132114202782

This game showed the parts of J.T. Miller that I appreciated the most, and not, perhaps, the on-ice and off-ice downsides that resulted in his departure.

On Saturday afternoon, Miller also scored twice against the Boston Bruins in his debut return to the Rangers. I know this is three Canucks stars of the week, but given he had been a Canuck less than 24 hours before this game, I’ll give him a pass. Hopefully, this is a sign of the trade being a good fit and the Canucks being able to move on without being dragged down by their own history.

There’s a lot you can say about Miller’s tenure, ‘controversial’ barely scratching the surface. ‘Complex,’ I think, is the word I would prefer to use. Everyone has a different opinion, but it is hard to say that Miller was not a part of the heart and soul of the team for so long. Miller and his wife, Natalie, who was active with the Canucks For Kids fund and other local charities, also led the Cloud 9 initiative this year, which <a href="https://x.com/RodMakeKidsBald/status/1885570634211877195">assisted childhood cancer patients</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fierce_for_harley/p/DEYzz0wxmAT/?img_index=1">brought them to Canucks games in their suite</a>. It is hard to say that the Millers did not give one hundred percent to the city of Vancouver and the Canucks.

Sometimes, it’s best for everyone to move on – and in his case, likely closing out his playing career with the team that drafted him all those years ago is quite the poetic touch. Best of luck to you, J.T. 
<h3>Pius Suter</h3>
Pius Suter had a three-point week – two goals came with special teams and an assist at even strength. For a centre who I normally keep an eye on for his defensive game and work in the faceoff dot, his scoring success this year has just been the cherry on top. 

A shorthanded goal against the flailing St. Louis Blues came thanks to an absolute clutch pass from Tyler Myers, which he looked just as surprised to score as I did watching it. Next, his power play empty net goal against the Nashville Predators still counts, even if, in those circumstances, it’s like taking candy from a baby. And, what do you know, this goal would be J.T. Miller’s last-ever point as a Canuck. 

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884061729862344867

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884821969633186267
<h3>Conor Garland</h3>
Garland’s game was sharp this week, his two-goal performance against the Blues being a definite highlight. Despite a drop-off in the win against Nashville with just one shot on goal, he showed out again with a goal against the Dallas Stars despite the team dropping the game 5-3. 

The pass heard around the world from Quinn Hughes under Blues defenceman Ryan Suter for Garland to score the goal is just a perfect example of the chemistry between these two and, quite frankly, just a hilarious goal to watch on repeat. This is one that I will be remembering long after this season. It has the entertainment value of a Saturday morning cartoon. 

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884043211506885040

Candidly, the Canucks had a difficult time against the Stars. Dallas is a sizzling team in the midst of a winning streak, and the Canucks had just learned that their long-time teammate and friend had been traded within an hour of puck drop. That is not the best recipe for a fair matchup. For a distracted performance, it could have been so much worse than a 5-3 game, and Garland scoring the first Canucks goal in the second while things were up in flames behind the scenes was integral, even just for morale alone. Despite the roster changes on Friday, they had a job to do.
<h3>Honourable Mentions</h3>
Given the series of events and games played this week, there are more honourable mentions than stars themselves. Bear with me for some firsts and final send-offs. 

Vincent Desharnais

You didn’t always do a lot, and you didn’t always do it well, but you’ll be missed for your good vibes and the inches you singlehandedly added to the roster’s average height. Until we meet again, old friend.

Danton Heinen

Heinen did not work out perhaps as much as was hoped, but he was fine. He was just fine! A penalty killer who offered up depth scoring seemed like a great pickup. Effectively swapping him out for Drew O’Connor, another middle-to-bottom six forward with a rather similar profile, makes sense. O’Connor is a few years younger than Heinen and on an expiring two-year deal with only a $925,000 annual cap hit, compared to the two-year $2.25 million a year deal Heinen signed on July 1st last year. This year, Heinen has 18 points (6G 12A) in 51 games to O’Connor’s 16 (6G 10A). Mind you, the Pittsburgh Penguins are sliding headfirst into a rebuild that no one will call a rebuild, with an even worse goal differential than the Canucks. O’Connor also kills penalties and has played centre at times, but will more than likely stay on the wing while the Canucks continue to search for some more win-now value centre depth. 

Similar to Miller, Heinen returns to a former team, the Penguins, for whom he’s already played 141 career games. Some of my favourite Heinen moments as a Canuck, in no particular order, are:

The time he scored two goals in a lopsided 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The time in December he got into his first-ever professional career fight.

https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1871400478007058840

Erik Brännström

Brännström deserved better than consistent scratches, but as a true #BrännströmTruther, I am sad to see him go.

That said, Marcus Pettersson and Victor Mancini are more than worth it for the long and the short term.

Linus Karlsson

After 10 Vancouver games played and 149 with Abbotsford, Karlsson netted his very first NHL goal with the parent club. How about that?

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1884801463102189791

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3 Canucks Stars of the Week: J.T. Miller’s Swan Song

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