Management UNEDITED - Don Sweeney addresses the media on Mitchell Miller signing

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

You have got to be kidding me. I figured this story had died down for the night so I went to take my dog for a walk and a shit. I come back and it has gotten even worse.

Bergy saved DS' ass by deciding to come back, which I am sure weighed heavily into Krech coming back. Without Bergy and Krech coming back on an extremely team-friendly deal the Bs are not in the discussion of being a Cup contender. This is the thanks he gets? Maybe the most respected player in the NHL being asked to comment on his team signing a punk who spent 7 years of his life bullying a special needs kid. No win for Bergy no matter how he answers.

Yeah, Bruins management can go f*** themselves really hard on this one. Bergy and his reputation are sacred around these parts. Putting him in this situation given that he has devoted his entire professional career to this team is disgusting and unforgivable.

Spending decades building this culture and building a team built around this new culture.

Only to spit on it and drag it in the mud to sign a prospect.

Really feels not worth it.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Sweeney said. "I might have been the person that picked him up at the airport when he arrived in Boston, I will be the first person to drive him to the airport if anything goes sideways."

Wonder if he already booked his flight back.

Feels like things are already sideways, eh?

 

[The don godfather]

based on the responses on the forum- i would venture a guess that I believe in second chances more than the average poster here. He was young and people CAN change


All that being said- prolly should skip any signing like this forever. Never worth this type of reaction. Just play hockey

Agreed. Hopefully tomorrow game will be a good one for us.

 

[Fenway]

This is a total f***show and there is no escaping it. Management HAS to release Miller. This is not going to let up, and I just don’t see how Miller can remain under contract.

Yet another brilliant move by Bruins management. They’re the reason we can’t have anything nice.

I have to be careful about how I phrase this.

The Bruins took a risk on Jim Montgomery and somebody in the organization feels strongly that Miller deserves a second chance.

The Arizona Coyotes renounced Miller and the University of North Dakota kicked him out of school.

Saying you are sorry to the victim over Instagram is pathetic. The old school way is you go to the victim's home and ring the doorbell with no entourage.

I honestly don't think Sweeney is comfortable with this either but was overruled



“Representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization,” said Bruins President Cam Neely. “Respect and integrity are foundational character traits we expect of our players and staff. Prior to signing Mitchell, our Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school. During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”

 

[BruinsBtn]

Miller is a good teammate and hard worker who went from little playing time to major minutes on the ice because he dedicated himself to getting better, one of his coaches said.

Storm coach Anthony Noreen took calls from NHL teams asking for his opinion of Miller. Noreen coached Miller with the under-19 U.S. national team and traded for him in the USHL.

He spoke highly of Miller's character and hockey ability while acknowledging that his bullying past is part of his story.

"I give him credit, he never runs away from it. He owns it. I certainly do not think it defines who he is right now," Noreen said. "Here's a kid who made a mistake when he was 14 years old. He's grown from it, he's learned from it, he's changed. He's become a responsible young man."

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Fitting the Bruins have absolutely zero players of color on the team (while not that that is uncommon in the sport it hockey), but would really wonder how they'd feel.

Wonder how Marchand feels about it? Chirping at DeAngelo last year makes me think he's not a fan either.

Just everything about the whole situation feels like amateur hour.

He learned his lesson also seems synonymous with "he's played hockey really well".

Non-hockey related apology via Instagram? Christ...

Still need to hear from Cam.

 

[missingchicklet]

“Representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization,” said Bruins President Cam Neely. “Respect and integrity are foundational character traits we expect of our players and staff. Prior to signing Mitchell, our Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school. During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”

This statement is doing the Bs no favors. Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with Miller over the last few weeks, yet it resulted in him giving an apology over Instagram? Really? That proved to the Bs that he was accountable? But a kid whose career hit a dead end due to his antisocial behavior has agreed to enter some programs. What a valiant young man. The Bs are not going to be able wiggle out of this one. Even f***ing Bergy over by putting him in a horrible situation isn't going to work.

 

[frankiess]

This statement is doing the Bs no favors. Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with Miller over the last few weeks, yet it resulted in him giving an apology over Instagram? Really? That proved to the Bs that he was accountable? But a kid whose career hit a dead end due to his antisocial behavior has agreed to enter some programs. What a valiant young man. The Bs are not going to be able wiggle out of this one. Even f***ing Bergy over by putting him in a horrible situation isn't going to work.

''has agreed to enter some programs. What a valiant young man.''
What do you think he, Miller, should do?

 

[missingchicklet]

''has agreed to enter some programs. What a valiant young man.''
What do you think he, Miller, should do?

I don't care what he does. I do care what the Bruins should do, though.

 

[Fenway]

This statement is doing the Bs no favors. Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with Miller over the last few weeks, yet it resulted in him giving an apology over Instagram? Really? That proved to the Bs that he was accountable? But a kid whose career hit a dead end due to his antisocial behavior has agreed to enter some programs. What a valiant young man. The Bs are not going to be able wiggle out of this one. Even f***ing Bergy over by putting him in a horrible situation isn't going to work.

@missingchicklet

This team is clueless about PR

Look at the press notes for tomorrow

https://link.nhl.com/static/gamenotes/public/20222023/[email protected]?1667618286000

 

[Bruinaura]

Just last night I was going to post about how happy I was that Bergy finally had a "normal" season as captain, with no Covid craziness, the team doing great in what could very well be his last season. And then I thought, no, I'll wait until he hits 1000 points. Celebrate where he is after all he's been through in his career, and what a lot it has been.

................

And now he is put in an impossible situation, and no doubt some people out there are going to drag his reputation through the mud just because he had to respond, as captain of the team.

I'm leaving my thoughts on Miller aside. I don't feel like getting into it all. It's depressing.

I hope, I HOPE the boys can put this aside and focus on the hockey. This is more adversity than any of the injuries they've had to deal with, and it's not even about somebody up in Boston.

What a pile of crap.

I need cookies. And a goalie hug. And Bergy and Fliggy's happy dance.

 

[Mione134]

I wanna hear this kid speak. No instagram posting. No written statement. I want words out of his mouth. I want to hear him say what he did. I want to know the work he's done. Has he gone to therapy? Does he plan on reaching out to his victim mother? Is he even allowed to do so? What strides has he taken since this incident? I want to know. Because if you are getting this opportunity. A IG post a week ago isn't cutting it. Speak up, Mitchell.

I think this is a mistake to even bring him on. But I do believe people can change. I've seen it. But I need to SEE and HEAR it. I can spot a liar from a mile away. We've heard Bergy speak before this kid. Not what I want to see. Are we entitled to know what changes he's supposedly done? I normally would say nobody is entitled to personal information. HOWEVER he's now apart of our organization. You bet your ass I wanna know what he's done to become a human being and not the pile of human excrement he "was".

Let's hear from the horses mouth. I'll try to hold my gag reflex if it all goes wrong.

 

[Bruinfanatic]

I have to be careful about how I phrase this.

The Bruins took a risk on Jim Montgomery and somebody in the organization feels strongly that Miller deserves a second chance.

The Arizona Coyotes renounced Miller and the University of North Dakota kicked him out of school.

Saying you are sorry to the victim over Instagram is pathetic. The old school way is you go to the victim's home and ring the doorbell with no entourage.

I honestly don't think Sweeney is comfortable with this either but was overruled



“Representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization,” said Bruins President Cam Neely. “Respect and integrity are foundational character traits we expect of our players and staff. Prior to signing Mitchell, our Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school. During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”

Didn’t his court order say to stay away from him ?

Fitting the Bruins have absolutely zero players of color on the team (while not that that is uncommon in the sport it hockey), but would really wonder how they'd feel.

Wonder how Marchand feels about it? Chirping at DeAngelo last year makes me think he's not a fan either.

Just everything about the whole situation feels like amateur hour.

He learned his lesson also seems synonymous with "he's played hockey really well".

Non-hockey related apology via Instagram? Christ...

Still need to hear from Cam.

You saying Marchand is a racist now ,he literally yap’s at everyone,you guys are losing your minds now.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Miller is a good teammate and hard worker who went from little playing time to major minutes on the ice because he dedicated himself to getting better, one of his coaches said.

Storm coach Anthony Noreen took calls from NHL teams asking for his opinion of Miller. Noreen coached Miller with the under-19 U.S. national team and traded for him in the USHL.

He spoke highly of Miller's character and hockey ability while acknowledging that his bullying past is part of his story.

"I give him credit, he never runs away from it. He owns it. I certainly do not think it defines who he is right now," Noreen said. "Here's a kid who made a mistake when he was 14 years old. He's grown from it, he's learned from it, he's changed. He's become a responsible young man."

cool they can keep him

 

[BruinsBtn]

His coach

When we decided to bring him back it wasn’t a situation where, ‘Hey, this a guy that we didn’t know, but hey he’s a really good hockey player, so we’re going to bring him in here.’ This is a guy we’ve known for years. He’s a guy that’s sat in our locker room for an entire season. He’s a guy I’ve coached on a U.S. National team. He’s a guy that I’ve stayed in touch with even as he moved on. And we knew the person that we had met, the person we had known over the course of multiple teams and multiple years. We were able to convey that to the USHL and saying, ‘Hey, this is why we’re bringing him back. We believe in this kid. We don’t think this is the end-all-be-all of his story.’ And we put a plan together in place for his personal development, off-ice community service, diversity training, mental health stuff for himself personally, as far as people to talk to. We really just thought that we dealt with the league — and I give our commissioner a ton of credit, I give our front office and our league a ton of credit because when we put the plan together we just thought, ‘This is what our league exists for.’ This is what, to me, coaching exists for. This is what leadership exists for. Not to have a final ruling and judgement on someone for what they did in the past, but let’s try and help them to be better suited for their future. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to fix what happened in the past, but I don’t think it should be the end all story of someone for what they did at 14-years-old. No matter what they did. I don’t think it can be the end all be all. Maybe that’s just the way I’m built mentally. I’m an optimist. I believe that people can change. I believe that people can grow. If we didn’t believe in that then what’s the purpose of sports? What’s the purpose of what we do in life? If you can’t get better and you can’t grow and learn from your mistakes — no matter how horrible they are. And I think, again, the league liked the plan we put together, we stayed on top of it and at the end of the day, I think anyone that actually knows Mitchell and actually got to experience him in his time here in Kearney — I’ve never heard anyone say anything but overly positive stuff. From the people in community outreach that he was involved in, his billet family, his teammates, his coaches, people that are a part of our support staff, our bus driver, our trainer, our media guy, everybody just has overwhelming positive things to say about their personal interaction with him. When he would sit after a game for an hour every single home game and sign every autograph until fans were gone. I guarantee if you talk to those people and ask them what they think, they’d say probably the same thing, ‘Listen, we don’t agree with what’s happened in the past, but that was a pretty nice kid, pretty outgoing kid, pretty well-spoken kid when we got to meet him in our community

 

[CDJ]

I legit think this will put Sweeney and Neely on the hot seat after this much-deserved blowback

It should at least. I’ve never seen such an unnecessary, unforced error before. They smeared a shit stain across the spoked B today

Don’t think you can win a cup with people that stupid in 2022-2023.

 

[Fenway]

This better be a two-way contract but that isn't clear right now

Mitchell Miller's salary is $845,000 and his cap hit is $861,667 for the 2022-23 season. His salary is comprised of $95,000 in signing bonuses and $750,000 in base salary. He is a 20 year old defense who was born on Dec. 20, 2001. He was drafted 111th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 4th round of the 2020 entry draft. He has signed 1 contract worth a total value of $2,850,000. He will be a RFA at the end of the 2024-25 season when he is 23 years old.

Mitchell Miller Contract, Cap Hit, Salary and Stats - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Mitchell Miller contract, salary, cap hit, salary cap, aav, career earnings, lifetime earnings, aav, advanced stats, transaction history, trade history, and rfa or ufa free agent status

www.capfriendly.com

 

[frankiess]

I wanna hear this kid speak. No instagram posting. No written statement. I want words out of his mouth. I want to hear him say what he did. I want to know the work he's done. Has he gone to therapy? Does he plan on reaching out to his victim mother? Is he even allowed to do so? What strides has he taken since this incident? I want to know. Because if you are getting this opportunity. A IG post a week ago isn't cutting it. Speak up, Mitchell.

I think this is a mistake to even bring him on. But I do believe people can change. I've seen it. But I need to SEE and HEAR it. I can spot a liar from a mile away. We've heard Bergy speak before this kid. Not what I want to see. Are we entitled to know what changes he's supposedly done? I normally would say nobody is entitled to personal information. HOWEVER he's now apart of our organization. You bet your ass I wanna know what he's done to become a human being and not the pile of human excrement he "was".

Let's hear from the horses mouth. I'll try to hold my gag reflex if it all goes wrong.

''I can spot a liar from a mile away.''
So, was Bergy lying?

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Didn’t his court order say to stay away from him ?


You saying Marchand is a racist now ,he literally yap’s at everyone,you guys are losing your minds now.

Marchand was yapping at DeAngelo calling him a racist. For the crap Deangelo used to post on Twitter.

 

[Lobster57]

I'm late to all this, and am kind of struggling to work through it and wrap my head around it. And it turns out, i can't. I'm all for second chances, maybe too much in a lot of cases. But i can't see it here, the kid just doesn't seem to be remorseful, it seems very perfomative. I'm pretty sure his (not even) half-assed apology would never have happened without the prospect of a contract in front of him. This team, over the last 15 years or so, has done so much to develop a culture of leadership, team and community, and now i think it's clear that has come from the locker room way more than it has the front office. I don't envy the guys having to face the media over this, they are in a no-win situation with basically any response, even a "i have no comment" will be dissected and spun everywhere.

really wish the front office passed on the guy, I can't see an realistic situation where it's worth it. Patrice is probably f***ing PISSED at having been fed to the wolves to do damage control, and it's hard to blame him

edit: i really wish this forum had a way to tag users, so i'm not constantly having to re-learn how trashy some people are.

 

[missingchicklet]

The kid's mom says that Miller was taunting her son as recently as 2 years ago. That was Miller's draft year when he was 18. Are we now going to say, well he was only 18, boys make mistakes? Ask the NHL scouts who interviewed Miller. His language was so disgusting it made the scouts uncomfortable.

The kid had to be taken out of school for more than a year because the bullying got so bad. When he returned for his 6th grade year the bullying continued. It got so bad a retired flippin Harlem Globetrotter took notice and visited the school to do an anti-bullying program. Don't believe me, check this out:

Harlem Globetrotter brings anti-bullying message to Lucas Co.

Miller certainly didn't take the program to heart because the bullying of the special needs kid continued for 2 more years. Then taunting occurred 4 years after that when Miller was 18.

This is not a one-off thing. All the evidence is pointing to a disturbed manipulative young man who has been enabled for much of his life. Looks to me like he continues to be enabled.

 

[Mad Dr Pepper]

You have got to be kidding me. I figured this story had died down for the night so I went to take my dog for a walk and a shit. I come back and it has gotten even worse.

Bergy saved DS' ass by deciding to come back, which I am sure weighed heavily into Krech coming back. Without Bergy and Krech coming back on an extremely team-friendly deal the Bs are not in the discussion of being a Cup contender. This is the thanks he gets? Maybe the most respected player in the NHL being asked to comment on his team signing a punk who spent 7 years of his life bullying a special needs kid. No win for Bergy no matter how he answers.

Yeah, Bruins management can go f*** themselves really hard on this one. Bergy and his reputation are sacred around these parts. Putting him in this situation given that he has devoted his entire professional career to this team is disgusting and unforgivable.

This.

X100000000

 

[Mione134]

''I can spot a liar from a mile away.''
So, was Bergy lying?

His body language tells the entire story. He's uncomfortable. On one hand, he believes people can change. On the other I can tell he's thinking (why does it have to be our organization). As the captain and leader of the team, Bergy has to speak. He's put in a very uncomfortable position. He can't flatly come out and say "this organization is wrong I don't agree with this". So you gotta read in-between the lines. Sweeney said earlier that many players were asking "why". I'd bet money on Bergy being one of them.

 

[Lobster57]

His coach

When we decided to bring him back it wasn’t a situation where, ‘Hey, this a guy that we didn’t know, but hey he’s a really good hockey player, so we’re going to bring him in here.’ This is a guy we’ve known for years. He’s a guy that’s sat in our locker room for an entire season. He’s a guy I’ve coached on a U.S. National team. He’s a guy that I’ve stayed in touch with even as he moved on. And we knew the person that we had met, the person we had known over the course of multiple teams and multiple years. We were able to convey that to the USHL and saying, ‘Hey, this is why we’re bringing him back. We believe in this kid. We don’t think this is the end-all-be-all of his story.’ And we put a plan together in place for his personal development, off-ice community service, diversity training, mental health stuff for himself personally, as far as people to talk to. We really just thought that we dealt with the league — and I give our commissioner a ton of credit, I give our front office and our league a ton of credit because when we put the plan together we just thought, ‘This is what our league exists for.’ This is what, to me, coaching exists for. This is what leadership exists for. Not to have a final ruling and judgement on someone for what they did in the past, but let’s try and help them to be better suited for their future. I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to fix what happened in the past, but I don’t think it should be the end all story of someone for what they did at 14-years-old. No matter what they did. I don’t think it can be the end all be all. Maybe that’s just the way I’m built mentally. I’m an optimist. I believe that people can change. I believe that people can grow. If we didn’t believe in that then what’s the purpose of sports? What’s the purpose of what we do in life? If you can’t get better and you can’t grow and learn from your mistakes — no matter how horrible they are. And I think, again, the league liked the plan we put together, we stayed on top of it and at the end of the day, I think anyone that actually knows Mitchell and actually got to experience him in his time here in Kearney — I’ve never heard anyone say anything but overly positive stuff. From the people in community outreach that he was involved in, his billet family, his teammates, his coaches, people that are a part of our support staff, our bus driver, our trainer, our media guy, everybody just has overwhelming positive things to say about their personal interaction with him. When he would sit after a game for an hour every single home game and sign every autograph until fans were gone. I guarantee if you talk to those people and ask them what they think, they’d say probably the same thing, ‘Listen, we don’t agree with what’s happened in the past, but that was a pretty nice kid, pretty outgoing kid, pretty well-spoken kid when we got to meet him in our community

of all the people who think the guy is a saint, how many of them are visible minorities or handicapped? I'll place at least as much weight on the words of his victim's mother as i will on the words of his coach

 

[BruinsBtn]

of all the people who think the guy is a saint, how many of them are visible minorities or handicapped? I'll place at least as much weight on the words of his victim's mother as i will on the words of his coach

By all accounts he's barely (if at all) spoken with the mother in 7 years?????