J.T. Miller Met With Mixed Reaction From Fans in His Highly Anticipated Return to Vancouver

J.T. Miller's exit from the Vancouver Canucks was highly controversial after his conflict with former teammate Elias Pettersson.

Miller was ultimately traded back to his former team the New York Rangers and now returned to Vancouver as a visitor for the first time.

The trade of course turned the Canucks organization upside down with fans picking sides between Miller and Pettersson and placing a lot of pressure on players like Filip Chytil to fill Miller's shoes.

Miller spoke this morning about the opportunity to return to Vancouver and play in a place he called home for several seasons.

With almost a year of distance since Miller was traded by the organization enough time passed that Miller was met by a wide range of reactions from the fans.

To begin the game, Miller took the ice and was immediately met with hostility whenever he touched the puck.

This frustration and anger from fans was expected and likely understood by Miller but when it came time for the Canucks to give a tribute to Miller things changed as he was given a standing ovation.

The warm reception and passion from the Canucks fans is a good reminder that a player's exit from an organization can be separated from the contributions that player made during their time with the team.

In this case, that meant Miller gets booed as a member of the Rangers but gets a warm reception for the things he did for the Canucks organization.

After the game, it will be interesting to hear from Miller and get his opinion on the fans' mixed reviews towards him tonight.