Last week in the NHL: Miller leaves Canucks, coaching drama, a ruptured testicle, Thornton gets his flowers

Every week, we'll update you on all the important musings in the hockey world over the past seven days — from the NHL and beyond.

There were plenty of viral happenings around the game last week, including Sidney Crosby hitting an elusive milestone, a Canucks star leaving the team, Alex Ovechkin's injury, Jim Montgomery's whirlwind few days, "Jumbo Joe" getting his flowers in San Jose, a scary incident involving an official, a pair of unreal goals, a couple big hits, and a grotesque injury update for the ages.

Here's the top sights, sounds and news you might have missed in hockey last week.

J.T. Miller taking leave of absence from Canucks

One of the Vancouver Canucks' top players is stepping away from the team.

Last Tuesday, the team announced that forward J.T. Miller was stepping away from the team "indefinitely" because of personal reasons.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin released a statement explaining the situation to fans the best he could.

“Right now, our sole focus is making sure that J.T. knows the entire organization is here to support him,” Allvin wrote. “Out of respect to J.T., we will have no further comment at this time.”

The reason for Miller's sudden absence was later revealed by Canucks reporter Rick Dhaliwal, who reported that Miller simply "needs a re-set" and "time and space." The report was confirmed by other journalists.

“Been told that J.T. Miller’s personal leave is not related to substance or alcohol abuse or anything at all like that. It’s about giving the player a chance to re-set himself mentally,” Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston wrote on social platform Bluesky.

“We know he is obsessed with competing at 100% and we can see he hasn’t been. That’s been weighing on him,” Johnston added.

And as far as Miller's “indefinite” injury timeline goes, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Friday that Miller is expected to return to the team on December 3 following a road trip, meaning Miller may be back in the lineup for their next home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 6.

“The expectation here is he’ll hopefully — and everybody hopes he’s OK — hopefully he rejoins the team after the road trip,” Friedman said in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough.

Miller was having a pretty productive season for the middling Canucks, potting six goals and 16 points in 17 games before his leave of absence.

Sidney Crosby joins exclusive club with 600th career goal

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby hit yet another major milestone, putting home career goal No. 600 against Utah on Saturday.

Crosby, who was rushed by his teammates as they flooded off the bench to congratulate him following the big tally, became just the 21st player in NHL history to reach the elusive mark.

It's a massive accomplishment, to say the least, but Crosby has never been one to revel in individual accomplishments, especially after a loss. He made that pretty clear following the game.

“It’s not enjoyable, obviously,” Crosby said, after the sliding Penguins' 14th loss in their last 18 games. “It was a nice reception and a cool moment. I thought we got some momentum and we were doing some good things and (Utah) got one shortly after. Even with that, we were still in the game, but it got away from us.”

After the goal was announced, the Pittsburgh crowd gave No. 87 a standing ovation before the 37-year-old acknowledged the fans as he raised his stick in the air. Crosby's parents, Troy and Trina, were also in attendance for the special moment — something that meant a lot to the Penguins captain.

“I’ve been fortunate for some of those milestones to be here at home and to have family here and for it to be in front of the home crowd,” Crosby said. “I think it’s even more special to be able to do it at home.”

Crosby has been essentially the lone bright spot during a dismal Penguins season so far as the team currently sits last place in the Metropolitan Division through 23 games.

Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin is the only active NHL player to reach the 600-goal mark.

Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky put on pause

Speaking of Ovechkin, NHL fans will now have to wait a little longer than they hoped to see a seemingly unbreakable record fall.

Alex Ovechkin, who sits just just 27 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goal-scoring record of 894, will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a fractured fibula during Washington's clash with the Seattle Kraken last week.

The injury comes at a brutal time for Ovechkin and fans of the NHL. The 39-year-old broke his leg in a shin-on-shin collision with Utah's Jack McBain after the former had already scored twice during the game, giving Ovechkin 15 goals on the season and a share of the NHL's goal-scoring lead.

Before the injury, Ovechkin was on pace to score goal No. 894 and surpass Gretzky sometime in February. Now, it will likely happen much later in the campaign or at the beginning of next season.

Jim Montgomery's career-altering week

It was an absolutely wild week for now former Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.

The Bruins fired Montgomery last Tuesday after the team stumbled out of the gate with a losing record (8-9-3 start, .475 points percentage) while sitting outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference to start the season.

The move wasn't all that shocking as something had to give in Boston after its sluggish start to the year, however, what was surprising was how quick he landed on his feet.

Montgomery was employed by another club just five days later, with the veteran bench boss inking a five-year deal with the St. Louis Blues to became their new head coach.

Blues president and general manager, Doug Armstrong, says he didn't plan on making a change behind the bench until Montgomery became available after he was axed by the Bruins.

"This was more of an opportunity to get someone of Jim’s caliber than anything else," Armstrong said on a video call with reporters.

"When I talked to Drew today I told him this was more of a decision based on the availability of someone I think is a top NHL coach, someone that we have experience with, someone I really do believe can coach this team and also coach the team when it reaches its ultimate level of competitiveness."

Every team Montgomery — the 2023 Jack Adams Award winner as NHL Coach of the Year — has led for a full season has qualified for the playoffs, according to Sportsnet, and his .659 career points percentage ranks among the best in league history.

Ex-teammate shares incredible Joe Thornton story during ceremony

Joe Thornton is an absolute legend in San Jose, and this weekend the longtime Sharks star was finally immortalized.

The team retired Thornton's No. 12 and raised it to the rafters ahead of the team's game against the Buffalo Sabres. His jersey will sit beside former teammate and close friend Patrick Marleau's sweater in the rafters of SAP Arena, Patrick Marleau.

As Thornton's slowly lifted to the arena ceiling, the two Sharks icons were weeping.

"It truly was an honour to be your teammate, friend, and roommate," Thornton said to Marleau, per NHL.com. "I'm absolutely humbled to have my number up there next to yours."

The ceremony and night in general brought all the feelings, but Thornton's former Sharks teammate Douglas Murray offered insight to just how much the community meant to Thornton — sharing an incredible story about Thornton and his family helping an unhoused women and her children.

Murray says he got a call from Thornton one day asking if he could help move a mother and two kids into a local apartment.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Thornton told him.

When Murray arrived, he realized the family had actually been homeless and the Thornton’s were just helping them out — without wanting anyone else to know.

“That’s who the Thornton’s are,” Murray said.

As massive of impact as Thornton made off the ice, he was an absolute. monster on it as well — especially in San Jose where he spent the majority of his career. Thornton is the Sharks' all-time leader in assists (804), sits second in points (1,055) and third in games played (1,104). His next stop is likely the Hockey Hall of Fame next fall.

Referee Mitch Dunning recovering after being stretchered off the ice

NHL referee Mitch Dunning is on the mend after a scary collision with Colorado Avalanche defenceman Josh Manson last Monday.

Dunning ran into Manson near the blue line, off camera, before laying on the ice for several minutes. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher. Dunning appeared to be move his feet and his right hand as the stretcher was being prepared.

Dunning was taken to a local hospital, where, according to Sportsnet, "all neurological signs were found to be normal."

Dunning, a former professional defenceman, became full-time NHL status in 2022. It appers he will make a full recovery.

Teammate reveals Mats Zuccarello's gruesome injury

As far as injuries go, this is about as cringe as it gets.

Minnesota Wild Forward Mats Zuccarello took a puck where the sun don't shine in a November 15th game versus Montreal, before immediately dropped to the ice.

Zuccarello needed help leaving the ice and hasn't played since.

On Wednesday, the extent of the injury was revealed by teammate Marcus Foligno. The details aren't for the faint of heart.

"Poor guy got hit where the sun don’t shine, and it ruptured his testicle. He can’t even lift anything," Wild forward Marcus Foligno told the 93X "Half-Assed Morning Show" Wednesday.

Foligno said he and his teammates thought Zuccarello was "gonna lose one nut."

"But it actually survived, and he’s got them both still," Foligno added, saying that Zuccarello's protective cup had a "massive dent in it."

Zuccarello underwent surgery and is expected to miss about four weeks of action.

Snipes of the week

Your goal of the week comes courtesy of, you guessed it, Connor McDavid, who made the sport of hockey look extremely stupid and easy with this highlight-reel tally versus the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

Honourable mention goes to Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard, who took the puck coast-to-coast through and finished it off himself for an absolute gem against the Ottawa Senators last week.

Hits of the week

Canadiens defenceman Arber Xhekaj obliterated Oilers forward Zach Hyman during Montreal's 3-0 win over Edmonton last week.

Vegas blueliner Zach Whitecloud caught Leafs foreward Matthew Knies with a massive open-ice hit during Toronto's win last Wednesday.

After a review, there was no penalty on the play.

Despite the controversy among Toronto's fanbase, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube agreed with the league's assessment that the hit was clean.

"It’s a hockey hit. It’s been around forever … It’s a clean hit. It’s a tough play. He's in a vulnerable position a little bit. The guy was on him from behind and it's a tough play. It is, but it’s hockey. That’s part of the game," Berube said.