There is absolutely nothing to suggest AV doesn't like Miller. We've been over this before. It is all speculation. Sure there is a chance that AV does not like Miller... but it is not a big chance.
I will re-iterate what I've said in the past. Alain Vigneault was an enforcer type, heart on his sleeve type players in the AHL. He did not have the talent, unfortunately, to play the game he preaches as a coach. His actions show, through the coaching technique he employs, that if he had had his way, this is the type of hockey he'd prefer to have played - he prefers to watch played by his team. AV, as a player, was very hard nosed. Stuck up for team mates. But he undoubtedly must have aspired to be more than a 4th line enforcer. He likes a smart game that highlights talent. So it's not as far of a stretch to say that perhaps AV the player wished he could play the hard nosed game he played to go along in conjunction with offensive talent.
Which leads me to player A - Ryan Kesler. A hard nosed player, who wears his heart on his sleeve, sticks up for his team mates when needed, AND has offensive talent to add to his repertoire. Enter how AV treated Kesler while a part of his team - short leash, tough love.
When JT Miller was drafted, I watched through as many highlights of him as I could, and immediately wrote that if Miller panned out, that he'd be our very own Ryan Kesler lite. Look at how Miller plays now, hard nosed but undeniable offensive talent.
Is it really that far of a stretch to think that maybe Alain is hard on this particular type of player, because that's the type of player he wanted to be when he was in the league, and never had that ability? That he might see himself, or at least a self he wished he could have been, in these particular players and as such is riding them harder than any other player because that's how he thinks they will succeed.
Miller gets incredible opportunities under AV. 2nd PP unit. He was on the 1st line last night. It's easy to forget that he's only 21. Immature. Not refined in his playing style yet, and probably not in his off ice lifestyle. One of my friends was best friends with Kreider during my time there. When they were both together in the AHL, my friend videochatted w/ both Chris and JT. I asked what JT was like, since I had never spoken to him. She said he seemed like a lot of fun but immature. I'm paraphrasing. He seems to have matured from last year. At 21, he probably still has a ways to go before he really "gets it". But the point is he's making improvements.
So to me, I personally think that any inference or notion that Miller is disliked by the coach is... nonsense.