Kevan Miller is another name often mentioned when you ask Bruins fans who they want to see traded, and since the Bruins have nine NHL defenseman under contract for next season, it’s a real possibility.They can’t be paying well over $5 million for three defensemen to be sitting in the press box most nights while they are in a big cap crunch. So, it’s highly likely at least one, if not two, get moved and I think Miller and/or John Moore will be the odd one(s) out. However, both are recovering from serious injuries this offseason and Miller in particular had it rough all year. Also, Moore (and possibly Miller) will be unavailable when the season starts, and it will be hard to move either of them right now because of that. But, I decided to look at it anyways as even though it will be difficult, I still think it will happen. My next post will be Moore’s trade scenario, but first here’s the one on Miller!
Before I get into it too much, here’s a write-up of his stats. Miller appeared in just 39 games for the Bruins last season, in which he recorded zero goals and seven assists. He did not appear in any playoff games for the team due to him breaking his kneecap horizontally and then vertically while rehabbing the first break. He made his NHL debut in the 2013-14 season after signing with the Bruins organization as an undrafted free agent after his senior season at the University of Vermont in the 2010-11 season. Miller has appeared in 324 career NHL games, over which he has produced 12 goals and 55 assists. The 31-year-old defenseman has only played for the Bruins organization over his six-season NHL and a little over eight season professional career.
Now, onto the fun stuff: the speculation and my thoughts. Miller, while injury-prone, is still a great bottom-pairing defenseman who can move the puck well and is never afraid to deliver or take hard hits and block shots. He’s also more than willing to drop the gloves to defend himself or his teammates whenever necessary. His skating has also improved drastically in recent years. In addition to his on-ice value, he is a good leader, having served as the captain in his junior and senior seasons at UVM, and is well-liked and respected in the room. He’s a UFA at the end of this season and currently carries a reasonable $2.5 million cap hit. If a team can overlook his injury problems, which were particularly bad (albeit nearly all freak and unavoidable, none more so than his larynx injury), this season, he could be a solid addition. It’s unfortunate the Bruins are in the situation they are in and will likely have to move him because of it. He’s a valuable defenseman when healthy and brings a strong physical element while also being capable with the puck, which is important for any contending team to have in my opinion. He was sorely missed in the Cup Final and had he not injured his knee that second time, he would have been available and who knows, it may have been a different outcome. But, what’s done is done, we could talk about “what ifs” all day and the outcome will unfortunately still be the same.
As I said in the Backes trade scenario, the entire league is aware of the situation the Bruins are in and that they have to shed salary to resign their RFAs. Because of this, the Bruins will, in all likelihood, not get an equal return in any trade they make. That, combined with Miller’s injury problems, make it unlikely the Bruins get any more than picks for him. I would say, at most, they could get a third round pick in return for Miller given his typical role and their situation but they may struggle to even get that since they really have no leverage in any trade they make. If they accept any lower of a pick, particularly if they can’t even get a fourth rounder for him, they will likely be able to get an additional seventh round pick or so from the other team. However, the NHL is weird and GMs do inexplicable things all the time so you never know what may happen. I could be way off here and they could get way more or way less than what I’m thinking (but really pulling for the former here). As I said above, I wish there was a different solution to the Bruins’ cap issues and logjam on defense other than moving on from a guy like Miller, but it is what it is and something has to be done. I think that Miller is more likely to be moved than Moore despite his injury problems since Moore has four more seasons left on his contract while also having some injuries himself, which will make him harder to offload. However, I hope if the Bruins are just going to move one, that one is Moore for those reasons and because his cap hit is slightly higher at $2.75 million and every little bit will help. But, more on that in the next post! No matter what, the Bruins have to make a move in order to get McAvoy and Carlo resigned, which is a without a doubt necessary, and hopefully, it all gets done before training camp opens in September.
Hockey Addict 