It didn’t go so well for the Bruins when on Nov. 4 they announced they had signed Mitchell Miller to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The blowback was so severe the team two days later was forced to publicly disassociate itself from the 21-year-old, who at age 14 pled guilty to one count of assault and one count of violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act for conducting a series of vile acts in a racially motivated campaign against a developmentally challenged classmate named Isaiah Meyer-Crothers.
Miller, whose rights had previously been renounced by Arizona three weeks after selecting the defenseman in the fourth round of the 2020 draft, was sent home not to play by Boston after originally being assigned to AHL Providence.
He remained under contract, due a $95,000 annual signing bonus on the two-way deal in which he was scheduled to receive an NHL base of $750,000 for 2022-23 and $775,000 for the next two years with a minor league salary of $82,500 per.
Miller remained under contract, that is, until somehow he was not and is not.
Slap Shots learned from an NHL official on Friday that, “He and the Bruins have parted ways.” A Bruins spokesman then told us via email, “Can confirm Mitch Miller is not under contract with the team. Cannot comment further.”
What happened?
Slap Shots has been told the Bruins immediately terminated Miller’s contract in conjunction with their disassociation from him. There is, however, no record of the team placing him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of termination as required by the CBA. Then too, that regulation applies to mutually agreed termination, which this was not.
The NHLPA, in turn, filed a grievance.
We have learned that in lieu of a hearing, the parties reached a settlement under which Boston was released from its obligation while Miller received an unknown sum and was granted free agency.
The agreement was reached in February under the imposition of confidentiality. Its existence was not publicly known until now. Indeed, as of Saturday, Miller was listed on the Bruins’ minor league roster on both CapFriendly and PuckPedia.
It is likely that the defenseman will seek employment in Europe.
The Rangers and GM Chris Drury came out of the gate by signing support forwards such as Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick, Alex Belzile and Riley Nash to one- or two-year deals for no more than an AAV of $800,000. These were veterans whose priority to get contracts in a historically tight free-agent market aligned perfectly with the Blueshirts’ needs.
With still two months to go before camps open, 12 teams are already over the $83.5 million cap, with another two within $300,000 of the ceiling. Calling the offseason stagnant doesn’t quite do justice to the league’s Stillwater summer.
As such, there is an unusually large number of unsigned free agents still seeking work. Sooner rather than later, many of these players will become unemployed rather than unsigned. I wonder how many will accept one-year deals that they would not even have considered on July 1? I wonder how many will be forced to accept tryout offers when offers do not come?
And I wonder if this unexpectedly broadens the pool for the Rangers, who are at 46 organizational contracts, four below the limit?
Do suddenly the likes of Max Comtois, Zack Kassian, Jesse Puljujarvi, Anders Bjork, Colin White, Danton Heinen, Austin Watson, Cal Foote and Ethan Bear become (better) options for the Blueshirts under low-cost, no-risk contracts if they’re still out there in early September?
I guess it is natural that the Penguins, who have not won a playoff series since claiming the Cup in 2017, would be spending their summer attempting to recreate a 2017 NHL All-Star squad by trying to bring 33-year-old Erik Karlsson into the mix from San Jose with soon-to-be 36-year-old Sidney Crosby, soon-to-be 37-year-old Evgeni Malkin and 36-year-old Kris Letang. This seems like something that might have been out of the recently dismissed Ron Hextall’s GM playbook.
Yes, I agree, the Rangers would be better off with Pavel Buchnevich in their lineup. But you know what else? The Rangers would also be better with a healthy Sammy Blais in their lineup.
I wonder how much former head coach Gerard Gallant’s obsessive win-tonight mentality limited Blais’ ability to regain his form when coming back last year from major knee surgery. Because it proved all but impossible for the winger to find his confidence and his form while getting 9:00 of ice time or less in 16 of his 40 games wearing the Blueshirt.
No. 91 got the necessary minutes when he was returned to St. Louis in the deal that yielded rental properties Vlad Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola while the Blues got the power forward — nine goals, all at even strength, with 11 assists in 31 games — the Rangers always coveted.
Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Jacob Trouba, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mat Barzal, Barclay Goodrow, Jonathan Quick and Trevor Zegras are among the players who will be participating in the Shoulder Check Showcase at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford, Conn., on Aug. 3.
Shoulder Check is a mental health initiative undertaken by the HT40 Foundation that was founded in memory of goaltender Hayden Thorsen, No. 40, who passed at age 16 in March 2020.
As described on its website, ht40.org, “The HT40 Foundation exists to do nothing more than what one young man did himself — bring people together with kindness and compassion, leaving no one left apart.”
The mission, “is to build a culture of mutual support and encouragement, one peer group at a time.
“Because so many of us, for so many reasons, could use a pat on the back, reminding us WE ARE NOT ALONE.”
This is a great cause. And this should be a great night.
And to you, have a great rest of the summer.
