VANCOUVER — J.T. Miller has already experienced an emotional return to his former home over the past two days, but the New York Rangers captain expects it to hit another level when he faces the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SN360, MSG).

The 32-year-old center is back here for the first time since being traded by Vancouver to New York on Jan. 31. Miller has already played against the Canucks since the trade, getting a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win at Madison Square Gardens on March 22, but this is his first time back to the place he played for 5 1/2 seasons.

But Miller knows it will be different in front of fans who used to chant his name on a regular basis.

“It’s going to be emotional for me, no doubt,” he said after the morning skate Tuesday. “A lot of good memories here. Some of my best friends still play on the other side. The way the city treated myself and my family, it’s something we’ll never forget. This building in particular, a couple games, a couple playoff series, has memories we’ll definitely remember, so definitely a special place.”

Miller insisted several times his focus is on helping the Rangers get back on track; they’re off to a 3-5-2 start, including a 5-1 loss at the Calgary Flames on Sunday, their third straight defeat (0-2-1) on a four-game road trip. But he also admitted it will be difficult at times to keep his emotions in check, especially with his wife and two daughters also here, and a tribute expected from a team he joined in 2019.

“No doubt, especially with my family here,” Miller said. “I’m trying to stay so focused right now, but I understand there’s going to be some distractions. I’m trying my best to put this all towards the right thing, but to have my family in the building, it’s going to be a lot tonight.

“I’ve never said a bad thing about Vancouver when I left. I loved it here; it was like home away from home, and the way they treated myself and my family is something we’ll always cherishing and there’s a reason the whole family came back. It’s been a nice couple of days.”

The Rangers had a day off here on Monday, which Miller spent catching up with former teammates, including Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, who is out with a lower-body injury. His wife and two daughters caught up with friends from school and minor hockey teammates.

“Definitely brought back a lot of feelings when we landed at the airport,” Miller said of his first time back here. “I just tried to see as many people as I could.”

Miller led the Canucks from the start of the 2019-20 season until his departure last season with 437 points (152 goals, 285 assists) in 404 games after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2019 NHL Draft. He helped Vancouver reach Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers in 2023-24, but things didn’t start smoothly last season; Miller took a 10-game personal leave of absence and reports surfaced of a rift with Vancouver center Elias Pettersson, which was later confirmed by president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford as a reason for the trade.

Pettersson didn’t have much to say about playing against Miller again.

“I played against him last year too,” Pettersson said.

Miller wasn’t interested in revisiting the trade or specifics of what led to it either.

“You can’t go back and change anything,” Miller said. “Obviously, it’s ugly sometimes at the end, but I think for the majority of the time I was here it’s been all positive. It’s been a lot of good things, and I’m not going to sit here and dwell over the way it ended.

“I didn’t expect that to be pretty and it wasn’t, but definitely still a lot of friendships and a lot of good memories and a lot of good things that came from that experience. So, I’m happy.”