Leaves beneath your feet. Cold rain hitting the pavement. The Vancouver Canucks taking a former player off an arena banner. These are the signs that fall is here. 

With the Canucks getting into preseason action this past weekend, it was finally time to get rid of the stench of last season and start anew. That meant removing Ryan Miller from his spot on the outside of Rogers Arena. The goaltender was situated right next to Chris Tanev (who hopefully isn't going anywhere anytime soon) at gate seven, but has been replaced by a photo of Sven Baertschi.  

That's right, hockey is here. And with some intriguing storylines like Bo Horvat and his new contract, the Sedins' possible last hurrah and Brock Boeser's fight to make the lineup, this actually might be an entertaining season to watch if you squint hard enough at the interesting stuff.

As for Miller, it's hard to say how he'll be remembered in Vancouver. Most likely as a solid goaltender who kept the Canucks in games that the team probably regrets being in (maybe those fifth overall picks would be ones or twos?). In any case, it's hard to fault the talented keeper for giving his all each night. As he goes off to the Anaheim Ducks to be with his wife (actress Noureen DeWulf) and back up John Gibson, it will be hard not to root for the veteran to get a Stanley Cup ring.

After all, we did all root against him when he was playing for the gold medal in the same building he played in so admirably the last few years. 

And, hey, his departure gives way to another mildly interesting storyline to watch this season: whether or not Jacob Markstrom performs up to his potential between the pipes.

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