J.T. Miller
J.T Miller made his NHL debut during the lockout-abbreviated 2012-2013 season under former head coach John Tortorella. In his second career game, Miller scored two goals and showed a flash of what he could develop into. But the road to get there was bumpy and outright ugly.
Miller spent time in the AHL as recently as the 2015 season, and there were questions as to whether or not he’d ever make the leap to being an NHL talent. Coach Vigneault was sure that Miller could make it at the NHL level, but it was going to take tough love.
And it worked.
Miller has gotten better every season he’s been in the NHL. Miller himself gets why things were abrasive. “Coach expects a lot from us, but I can take it,” Miller said in an interview.
The winger had the best season of his young career in 16-17 when he put up 56 points in 82 games. With a bigger sample size, it’s apparent that last season was not a fluke. Dating back to the 2015 season, Miller has hovered around a 15 percent shooting percentage. This means that the output from the past several seasons is likely to hold, and could possibly get better.
The trust Vigneault has in Miller can be seen in his usage the last two seasons. Last season he showed how lethal a playmaker he could be when Miller was the catalyst on the hottest line with Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner.
Alain Vigneault’s tough love of Miller paid off in the long run.