"He’s got a lot of work to do,'' said veteran Brad Marchand.
www.bostonglobe.com
Early Friday afternoon, in classic news dump style, the Bruins revealed that they signed Miller to a three-year, entry level contract, one that guarantees the him more than $500,000 across the next three years regardless of whether he makes the varsity roster.
At the NHL level, the deal carries an $862,000 cap hit, according to
capfriendly.com.
Miller reported Friday to the AHL Providence Bruins, with general manager Don Sweeney making it clear that the 5-foot-10-inch, 190-pound defenseman will need to train for some time before he is added to a game roster anywhere in the organization. It was clear from Sweeney’s remarks that there is no guarantee that Miller, last season’s defenseman of the year and player of the year in the USHL, ever will make the Boston roster.
Yet the signing equally made clear that the Bruins detect real upside in Miller, who collected a prolific 39-44—83 line last season with the USHL Tri-City Storm.
A source familiar with what he said was a monthlong negotiation of Miller’s contract said Saturday that five NHL clubs also had offers on the table for the defenseman’s services. If true, then presumably those clubs similarly weren’t aware of Bettman’s posture toward Miller being cleared to play in the 32-team league.
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, who helped curate the club’s culture in recent years, dating to Zdeno Chara’s long tenure as captain, said he met with the entire team Saturday morning to discuss Miller’s signing.
“I’d like to keep that, I mean, what I said is what I said, right?” said Bergeron, asked by a Globe reporter what he told the group.
The comments to teammates, Bergeron said, echoed what he said moments before in a scrum with reporters at his locker.
“I was asked by Don, close to a week ago, he asked for my opinion,” about the signing, said Bergeron. “I had my concerns. I shared my opinion. In a way, I think I was not necessarily agreeing with it — to be honest with you, I think the culture that we’ve built here goes against that type of behavior. I think we are a team built on character and with character individuals. What he did, obviously is unacceptable. We don’t stand by that.”
Inclusion, diversity and respect are the pillars of the culture inside the dressing room, added the 37-year-old Bergeron.
“Those are the key words and core values that we have,” he added. “And we expect the guys who wear this jersey to be high-character people with integrity and respect — that’s how they should be acting.”
Bergeron said he would want evidence of “growth and change” from Miller before he entered the room.
====================================================================
I hate that they put Bergeron in this position. Hate it.
