Vancouver Canucks News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his game winning goal during the third period in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canucks Blame Roster for Miller Exit & More NHL News & Rumors

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Jim Parsons | Last updated May 9, 2025 11:50 AM ET

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Vancouver Canucks appear to be throwing the players under the bus, saying they didn’t come into this season as prepared as J.T. Miller was. Meanwhile, Anthony Stolarz won’t travel with the Toronto Maple Leafs to Florida for Game 3. His concussion issues could mean he misses the rest of the series. Finally, are the Ottawa Senators trying to re-sign Claude Giroux to a new contract?

Canucks Blaming Players For Lack of Preparedness

While speaking to season ticket holders, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said that J.T. Miller came into the 2024-25 season fully prepared and hoping to make the most out of one of his few remaining chances to win the Stanley Cup. Allvin said the young players on the Canucks didn’t train as hard in the offseason or come in as prepared. That was part of why Miller asked for a leave, and the discourse between his needs and the rest of the team’s. It became a divider that he couldn’t overcome.

Alvin praised Miller and blamed the rest of the group for not being ready to compete at his level entering the season.

Whether this was another example of the Canucks saying baffling things in the media or a message from the front office to the rest of the roster as this summer’s training becomes a priority, it was clear the GM wasn’t thrilled about how this team performed and treated the season. The Canucks seemingly lost a star player because of it.

One has to wonder if the Canucks lack of preparation also contributed to coach Rick Tocchet wanting to look at other options and choosing not to return.

Stolarz Out For Games 3 and 4

Howard Berger is reporting that Anthony Stolarz has a concussion and will miss the remainder of the second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. While the team has not officially made this news accurate, it is a big loss for Toronto, who is currently up 2-0 in the series.

According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic:

“Anthony Stolarz will not make the trip to Florida with his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates for Game 3 of their second-round series with the Panthers, head coach Craig Berube told the media on Thursday. The Leafs have not provided any formal update on Stolarz’s condition since he was removed from the opening game of the series on Monday night.”
source – ‘Anthony Stolarz won’t travel with Maple Leafs to Florida for Game 3’ – Chris Johnston – The Athletic – 05/08/2025

Will the Senators Re-Sign Claude Giroux?

When asked about his pending UFAs, Ottawa Senators’ GM Steve Staios specifically addressed Claude Giroux’s situation. The veteran forward wants to keep playing and says he has lots left in the tank. What does another contract in Ottawa look like?

Staios responded:

“Yeah, you know, I don’t like and I won’t talk about contract negotiations. But, I mean, we love G. Want to have him back. And we touched on it briefly at the exit meetings, and everything’s still fresh right now. You know, I think we’re be honest, like even talking to Travis, it still stings that we’re, we’re we’re here. And, you know, we had, we had belief in our group, and so everything’s really fresh right now. But I will get to speaking to all of our players that are up for contract.”