On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that defenseman Mitchell Miller currently remains under contract with the Boston Bruins and assigned to AHL Providence, as the team’s path to contractually walking away from him remains murky. Miller was convicted of assault in 2016 for bullying, harassing, and abusing Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities. The Bruins announced Sunday night that the team was parting ways with Miller after signing him to an entry-level contract earlier in the week.
Wyshynski outlined three options for the Bruins and Miller to legally part ways, although he won’t be playing in the NHL or AHL prior to his release. The first option is a buyout at the end of the season, which would result in a salary cap charge of $287,222 through 2027, or twice the remaining length of Miller’s entry-level contract. In this case, the Bruins would still owe Miller his contract money for the 2022-23 season, which would likely consist of his $95,000 signing bonus and $82,500 minor-league salary.
The second scenario is a settlement that allows Miller to become a free agent, worked on in conjunction with the NHLPA and Miller’s agent, Eustace King. Wyshynski notes a prospective settlement falls under NHLPA jurisdiction, despite Miller being assigned to the AHL and having no NHL experience.
The obvious last option is a traditional contract termination filed due to Miller’s past behavior, similar to the legal situation – not the backstory – between the San Jose Sharks and Evander Kane last season. Wyshynski notes that also similar to the Kane situation, the NHLPA is expected to file a grievance on behalf of Miller if the Bruins opted to terminate his contract. The NHLPA would also reportedly file a grievance if the Bruins opted to suspend Miller for the length of his contract without pay. In the case of Kane, he received a one-time payment of an undisclosed amount from the Sharks.
Wyshynski expects the legal action surrounding the situation to pick up later this week.
Let the trolling begin…
Oh how cute.
What a mess. If only there was some way this all could’ve been avoided…
Bruins fail again
What a dumba** Sweeney is. Just sign a guy who has a background of racial abuse, then pay to get rid of him 2 days later
I am NOT condoning Miller’s past behaviors but how long is hockey going to punish this player?
Probably as long as he refuses to pick up the phone and personally apologize to the victim.
Hopefully until the end of time. Let him get a non-hockey related job. Hockey has NO obligation to make him a millionaire.
NHL has higher standards than other leagues. See Marcel Ozuna, Kareem Hunt, Joe Mixon, Britney Griner. All bullies.
If you are demanding that hockey companies not hire the guy, why would you expect non-hockey companies to hire the same guy?
Hopefully forever. If you can ever excuse his behavior, you need to examine your morals and ethics.
There was a sub stack article written in February of last year that details this. He apologized to the other kid and his family, in writing. Court documents prove it. The article even has a copy of the handwritten apology. He was also barred legally from speaking to the other kid or his family, thus why there was no in person apology. There’s more than one side to everything.
In case nobody knew this, it was not just this one incident. The disabled kids mother says there’s been a history of the bullying, and as late as 2 years ago at some event where Mitchell, maybe others, taunted the kid. He should have, like anyone else, the chance to have an NHL career, but man, he has to get his act together. He needs to do whatever it takes to put this to rest.
Miller and another teen were convicted in juvenile court over their treatment of the adopted boy six years ago when Miller was age 14. The two teens punishment isn’t completely clear. The adoptive mother of the victim maintains that this treatment went on for years. If so, what did she do to during that time to bring it to an end? As the boy’s mother doesn’t she bear some responsibility for his safety? Did she contact the Sylvania, Ohio school and inform them of this problem as soon as she became aware of it? Did the school subsequently attempt to remedy it? If not why not? There’s plenty of unrealized responsibility here.
The victim is described as “developmentally disabled”. That may or may not be a factor in this affair depending on the nature of the disability. It might be the case that Miller himself could be described as “developmentally disabled” on the basis of his lack of social skills.
This affair is much more complicated than the tale of a satanic teenager bullying a schoolmate and then becoming a pariah.
So it looks like he already served his “time”
All your questions are valid. But what answers are there to be had? So his mother, may or may not, have failed to report it, the school board, may or may not, have known. Those are all things that may or may not have happend. The victim was disabled, that we know, but miller may be as well according to you. What are you trying to accomplish here? What does that have anything to do with the fact that the bruins signed this guy without doing any homework? Sounds like your saying there’s 2 sides to every story while trying to accuse the people outside of the actual incidents(Miller had bullied the kid since 2nd grade) of turning a blind eye. Without directly saying so it sounds like you’re implying that Miller has gotten a raw deal. My opinion is that he still got to go to college while not playing hockey, so his “development disabled” state maybe or not(as you implied) still was able to take classes and should have something of a career outside of hockey lined up. Last I checked hockey isn’t a course requirement. And lack of social skills doesn’t make you development disabled, it may make you unpleasant to be around though, might I add he was able to take classes at a major university. Get a clue dude.