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Kevan Miller

Bruins’ Wagner, Miller Could Miss Stanley Cup Final

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Even with a 10-day rest, the Boston Bruins injury situation doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. While reports about veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara seem good, the news about Chris Wagner and Kevan Miller weren’t nearly as impressive. According to Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, both players will not be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals and could miss the entire series:

We’ve got some time to evaluate where guys will be. I don’t expect [Miller] to be ready to play. I’ll be really surprised if [Wagner] will be ready to play, but we’ll see where that goes.

Miller, who hasn’t played a game in the playoffs yet and hasn’t appeared in any game since Apr. 4 with a knee injury, suffered a setback while trying to get back. The team had been hoping to bring him back for the Stanley Cup Finals against either the St. Louis Blues or the San Jose Sharks. While Miller has been with the team the entire way, trying to get back on the ice, Wagner’s situation is even worse. The forward suffered an injury to his right arm after blocking a shot from Carolina Hurricanes’ Justin Faulk’s in Game 3 of their series and was immediately transported back to Boston. Sweeney added he’d be surprised if Wagner returns for the finals. The team will likely have to lean more on each of their replacements as both Connor Clifton and Noel Acciari have played well in their absence.

The news, however, for Chara was better as Sweeney said he expects Chara to be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but the team intends to monitor his progress over the layoff.

Bruins To Loan Emil Johansson To Sweden

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May 13th: While the Bruins have yet to officially recognize the deal, there is no longer any doubt that Johansson will not be playing in North America next year and, as it turns out, not for a while after that either. HV71 have announced that they have signed Johansson to a three-year contract, bringing back the homegrown product. The team’s general manager, Johan Hult, spoke glowingly about Johansson in the press release, applauding his balanced game, skating ability, and “incredible hunger”. These traits are part of the reason why Johansson joined the Bruins so quickly after being a seventh-round pick and the team will be sorry to lose him as a young depth option, especially for up to three years or longer. It is possible that the Bruins have already agreed to waive and terminate Johannsson, valuing his roster spot against the 50-contract limit more than loaning and retaining his rights. Either way, the 23-year-old will become an afterthought for the Bruins.

May 10th: There is a logjam on defense in Boston, but it came in handy this season. Over the course of the regular season, the Bruins used 11 different defensemen as injuries ravaged the blue line all year long. The team’s defensive leader in games played, Brandon Carlo, still missed ten games, while players who began the season as AHL afterthoughts, such as Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon, suited up for double-digit games. It was a group effort that helped the team stay afloat through adversity and certainly contributed to the Bruins currently being one of just four teams left alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is all to say that any defenseman under contract with Boston this season who didn’t see NHL action should be re-considering his place in the organizational depth chart moving forward.

That appears to be exactly what Emil Johansson has done. Johansson, 23, was a 2014 seventh-round pick of the Bruins who impressed at the top level in Sweden and was deemed ready for pro hockey in North America sooner than expected. This season, his second full year with the Bruins organization, Johansson led all defensemen for AHL Providence in games played this season with 65, while recording ten points. Yet, he did not earn a chance to escape the minor league level. His odds are no better next season; the Bruins currently have the same top seven defensemen signed to one-way contracts through next year and Johansson would additionally be no higher than fifth among call-up options behind Clifton, Lauzon, and recent first-round picks Urho Vaakanainen, and Jakub Zboril. Johansson’s entry-level contract, which still has one year remaining, contains a European Assignment Clause, which he is reportedly expected to use in light of this situation. Henrik Leman of Swedish hockey source Rakapuckar writes that Johansson and the Bruins have a mutual agreement that he will play for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League next season.

While Leman’s article translates to the word “release”, it is far more likely than Boston will instead loan the young defenseman to the SHL rather than terminate his contract. Especially when the team can retain Johansson’s NHL rights in perpetuity by merely making him a qualifying offer next summer, it would be a surprise to see them instead outright release him. As for next year, Leman reports that interest has been high around Johansson and he has agreed to sign with HV71 over the likes of Frolunda HC and the Vaxjo Lakers. Of course, Johansson came up through the HV71 ranks, so the decision is not much of a surprise. Johansson played two full SHL seasons with the team before making the jump to North America, recording 27 points in 99 total games, and it will likely be a seamless transition to return to their ranks. If he excels overseas, the Bruins will likely keep the door open to a return. Despite their considerable depth in talented young defensemen, Boston has to prepare for life after Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, and Kevan Miller, all of whom could be gone after next season. Johansson could still wind up as a possible solution down the road.

Atlantic Notes: Moore, Miller, Senators’ COO, Canadiens’ Backup

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With the news that Charlie McAvoy will miss Game One of the Eastern Conference Final, the Boston Bruins know that they will need someone else to step up and fill both his spot in the lineup and his considerable minutes. While the latter responsibility will likely fall to increased roles for Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug, as well as captain Zdeno Chara of course, someone will have to come off the bench and be ready to contribute. Who exactly that will be remains a mystery, but the pool of potential options has increased. Speaking with the media today, Bruins GM Don Sweeney revealed that John Moore will be available on Thursday and that Kevan Miller has not been ruled out either. Moore was injured early in the Bruins’ last series and did not return, while Miller has not played at all in the postseason while rehabbing a lower-body injury. Sweeney did not sound optimistic that Miller would be the choice for Game One, but did promise that the further the team plays into the postseason, the more likely it is that he will return to the lineup. Miller began the season as a top-six regular for Boston, as he has for several years now, but injuries cost him all but 39 regular season games. An especially injury-prone defense corps this season has helped the Bruins give the likes of Moore, Matt Grzelcyk, Steven Kampfer, and Connor Clifton all considerable play time, and head coach Bruce Cassidy has entrusted the youngsters Grzelcyk and Clifton with starting roles moving forward in the playoffs. If Miller is still unable to go on Thursday, the decision would thus come down to Moore versus Kampfer, with the latter providing a right-handed shot and more stable defense, but the former bringing more experience with the team and more puck-moving ability to help with McAvoy’s absence. It will be an interesting decision for Cassidy and his staff and one that could play a major role in the Game One result.

  • Ottawa Senators’ COO Nic Ruszkowski is leaving his post after just one year on the job. As The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes, this is yet another shake-up to a front office that is still searching for a President of Hockey Operations, not to mention a head coach. Garrioch reports that Ruszkowski’s departure has spurred the Senators to restructure their administrative structure, with several executives moving into new roles to take on some of Ruszkowski’s duties. While the team claims that this restructuring will “strengthen our club”, Ruszkowski’s unexpected resignation is yet another stain on a difficult season for the Senators and only adds to the mythos of owner Eugene Melnyk being a difficult individual to work for. The team has a lot of work to do this summer on all fronts and hopefully can get their front office sorted out sooner rather than later.
  • The Montreal Canadiens may be paying Carey Price $10.5MM per year, but that doesn’t mean they expect him to play in every game. Yet, Price started the second-most games in the league this season, making 66 appearances. The poor play of backup Antti Niemi forced head coach Claude Julien’s hand in many cases and the team has already told Niemi, an unrestricted free agent, that he will not be back. Simply promoting Charlie Lindgren likely isn’t a much better option either. Instead, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels writes that the Canadiens will looks for experience and value on the free agent goalie market this summer. Engels warns that Montreal should not overpay for a backup, given the investment in Price to be “the guy” for ideally 60 games or so each year, but also feels they need a trusted veteran who could step in as the starter in case of injury. A cost-effective, proven veteran goalie is not always an easy thing to find, but Engels does throw out the likes of Cam Talbot, should he opt not to re-sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, Brian Elliott, Curtis McElhinney, Anders Nilsson, Keith Kinkaid, and Michael Hutchinson as top options. In all likelihood, it will be one of those names backing up Price come October.

Kevan Miller Remains Out For Boston Bruins

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The Boston Bruins will start their second round series in a few days, but won’t be getting a key member of their defense back in time. Kevan Miller has suffered a setback in his recovery and is now “week-to-week” according to Bruins GM Don Sweeney. The veteran defenseman did not play in a single game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

Miller, 31, played just 39 games for the Bruins this season as he dealt with multiple injuries, but would be a welcome addition if he could find any level of health in the playoffs. The physical defenseman strengthens their right side and would give them an upgrade over the rotation of Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer. While Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo really carried the weight in the first round, Miller would help balance out the minutes as a reliable option.

Still, the Bruins defense was still good enough to hold the Maple Leafs to three goals in the pair of elimination games they faced at the end of the series. The top two pairings were put out time and again across from Toronto’s best players and almost shut them down completely when it mattered. Depending on what happens tonight in Washington the Bruins could head into the second round as the highest seed remaining in the playoffs and enjoy home ice advantage for as long as they keep playing.

East Notes: Bruins, Kravtsov, Red Wings

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While the Bruins lost Sean Kuraly for the rest of the regular season last week, there is some help on the horizon on the injury front.  The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Torey Krug and Marcus Johansson could both return on Wednesday while blueliners Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller are aiming to return this weekend.  With their first-round matchup all but guaranteed now, they will comfortably be able to ease these players back into the lineup without a whole lot of pressure.  Johansson is someone that will likely get a fair amount of playing time down the stretch given that he hasn’t played much with the team since being acquired from New Jersey back at the trade deadline.  Unfortunately for the Bruins, the injury news isn’t all good as blueliner John Moore left Monday’s game due to an upper-body injury.

More notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • While the Rangers won’t be able to bring 2018 first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov over to finish off the season, GM Jeff Gorton told reporters, including Peter Botte of the New York Post, that he plans to talk to Kravtsov’s representative soon in the hopes of securing an entry-level deal for next season. His KHL deal runs through April 30th and even though his KHL team in Traktor Chelyabinsk has already been eliminated from the playoffs, they won’t release him from his deal early.  The 19-year-old had 21 points in 50 games this season while transitioning to play down the middle.
  • With Jonathan Ericsson set to return, the Red Wings announced that they’ve returned defenseman Brian Lashoff to Grand Rapids of the AHL. He had been up with the team on an emergency basis so re-assigning him was required in order to not convert him to one of their four post-deadline recalls.  Meanwhile, the team also noted on Twitter that winger Thomas Vanek is dealing with a mid-body injury.  The veteran quietly sits fourth on Detroit in scoring this season with 36 points in 64 games.  There’s no word yet on the severity of the issue.

Bruins’ Kevan Miller Out “Week-To-Week”

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This season’s Boston Bruins team nor veteran defenseman Kevan Miller are any strangers to injury. The Bruins have dealt with mass amounts of man-games lost this year, including from Miller, who had missed 26 games this season already, split between two separate 13-game injuries. As such, it was hardly a surprise when head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned today that what was initially considered a routine minor injury for Miller has proven to be anything but. Following what Cassidy called “bad news on an MRI”, Miller is considered “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury.

Miller has already missed three games on this third injury stint of the year, taking his total games sidelined to 29 versus just 36 played. The rugged defenseman is not afraid to put his body in harm’s way, whether that’s blocking shots or taking a hit to make a play. While that’s part of what endears him to his teammates and coaches, it also lands him on the IR more often than he would like. This situation is no different, as Miller took a puck up high against the Vegas Golden Knights and left the game early and has not appeared for the Bruins since. All three of his injuries this season have come while in the shooting lane, while this is the second season in a row that Miller has been injured while visiting the Golden Knights. Even in his injuries the dependable defender is consistent.

Even having missed close to half of the season so far, Miller still leads Boston in blocked shots, showing how adept he is at the task but also why it has so frequently caused him harm. He is also second only to Charlie McAvoy in hits per game among Bruins defenseman, so that element of his game will also be missed down the stretch. However, depth on the blue line is not an area of concern for Boston this season. John Moore, who only recently lost his starting job once the Bruins were at full health on the back end, has taken over Miller’s role seamlessly. Steven Kampfer, who the team has not needed to play in the calendar year, is another veteran option and a right-shot should Cassidy wish to balance out his blue line with Miller out. There’s also Urho Vaakanainen, Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, and Connor Clifton, who are all highly regarded and have logged NHL minutes already this season. All Boston defenseman may have to ramp up their aggressiveness in Miller’s absence, but otherwise the team should be fine. Even with Miller out for potentially weeks longer, the Bruins should be capable of dealing with another injury or allowing for rest down the stretch. Of course, the hope is Miller is ready to return before the postseason begins.

The Bruins also issued some good news today, announcing that key bottom-six forward Sean Kuraly should be ready to go for Thursday night’s game. Kuraly missed Boston’s last game and will presumably miss their next on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes with a concussion, but is on the road to recovery. As for star forward David Pastrnak, Cassidy simply said that he is on schedule in his rehab. This comes after the two week re-evaluation promised last month after he underwent thumb surgery, but stops short of issuing a new timeline. Seeing as the Bruins have not lost in regulation since January 10th, the team is under no pressure to rush Pastrnak – or Miller – back early.

Injury Notes: Senators, Miller, Marchand, Eberle

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The blue line of the Ottawa Senators is going to have a different look for the next few weeks. Speaking with the media today, head coach Guy Boucher confirmed that both Thomas Chabot and Christian Jaros are out long-term with injuries suffered in the team’s match-up with the New York Islanders on Friday night. Jaros, who fought the Isles’ Ross Johnston in the games, suffered a broken finger and will be out up to a month. Chabot, who took a big hit from Matt Martin, left the game and did not return. His ailment is being deemed an upper-body injury and is expected to keep him out three weeks. Chabot had played in all 38 of the Senators’ games to this point and is second on the team in scoring with an equal 38 points. He also leads the team in average time on ice by a substantial margin. Chabot’s absence will be crippling to an already-struggling Senators team. Jaros has also played a surprisingly large role for Ottawa, skating in 28 games and providing consistency in his own end. The corresponding call-ups of Christian Wolanin and Stefan Elliott will be hard-pressed to replace Chabot and Jaros by any means, making the outlook for the next month a bleak one for Ottawa. More short-term, Boucher also mentioned that Magnus Paajarvi is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Marcus Hogberg will make his NHL debut in net tonight with Craig Anderson still sidelined with a concussion.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois held a press conference today to discuss many aspects of the team and it was overwhelmingly positive, as one would expect from the team with an impressive lead over all their competitors in the league. However, one negative note was BriseBois’ update on forward J.T. Miller. The GM stated that Miller is out “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury and will be placed on injured reserve. He is not expected to be re-evaluated for at least another week. Miller is tied for fifth on the Lightning in scoring and also provides a physical presence to the team’s top-six, which will be sorely missed. Fortunately for Tampa, they have more than enough scoring to go around to make up for Miller’s absence from the score sheet.
  • The Boston Bruins may have gotten Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, and Jake DeBrusk back from injury for their last game, but they lost Charlie McAvoy (IR – lower body) and David Backes (suspension). Add another name to that list, as head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Brad Marchand will also be absent from the line-up tonight when the Bruins take on the Buffalo Sabres. While the team did not disclose the nature of the injury, it is reportedly an upper-body issue. For at least one game, the Bruins will have to make do without the dynamic winger and his team-leading 29 assists. Luckily, Cassidy left open the possibility that both Marchand and McAvoy could return to the team in time for the Winter Classic, which would be as close to full health as Boston has had all season long.
  • As the New York Islanders get set to visit John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, they will do so without star forward Jordan Eberle. Eberle missed the team’s last game with an undisclosed injury, but the Isles have now officially placed him on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. A difficult campaign continues for Eberle, who has struggled to score – 17 points in 35 games – and now finds himself sidelined for an indefinite amount of time. The Isles hope that recall Michael Dal Colle can help to offset Eberle’s absence, given that his presence has not been overwhelming so far this year anyway.
  • Zemgus Girgensons is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the Buffalo Sabres announced, and the team will have to find a replacement to anchor their fourth line. The exact nature of the injury is unclear, as is when it occurred, but the Sabres need to address the absence in short order with the Boston Bruins on the docket tonight. Girgensons leads all Buffalo forwards in hits and has been a dependable defensive forward all season long, posting some of the best possession numbers of his career.

Zdeno Chara Set To Return For Boston Bruins

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The Boston Bruins will be without Charlie McAvoy tonight as he deals with some “lingering effects” after blocking a shot, but the team will not be without reinforcements. Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller and Jake Debrusk are all set to return to the lineup for the Bruins. The team is taking on the New Jersey Devils tonight at home as they try to catch the Buffalo Sabres in the Atlantic Division.

Chara, 41, has been out since November 14th with a knee injury but had been playing extremely well for the Bruins through the early part of the season. The ageless veteran defenseman had logged an average of more than 22 minutes going into the game he suffered the injury, and was the team’s most important penalty killer. While not the same offensive threat he was in his prime, Chara still moves the puck effectively and can smother offensive players in the Boston end. Getting him and Miller back will do wonders to help a defense corps that has been beaten up all season long.

While health on the blue line matters, getting Debrusk back might be even more important for the Bruins. The 22-year old forward hasn’t played since December 6th, but is an integral part of the Boston forward group. His offense, while inconsistent this season, is needed for the team to become more balanced up front and not rely solely on the “big three” (or four, given David Krejci’s recent resurgence). Debrusk’s 10 goals still puts him fourth on the entire roster, five ahead of Joakim Nordstrom and Ryan Donato who come in tied for fifth. That’s not a lot of secondary scoring, something the Bruins will need to find if they want to go deep into the playoffs.

Eastern Notes: Vanek, Bruins, Hickey, Ennis

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It’s been a quiet year for Thomas Vanek who was signed to a one-year deal by Detroit to provide some veteran scoring while the team waits for its young talent to develop. However Vanek, who has scored 20 goals in 11 of his last 13 seasons in the NHL, hasn’t really done much of that. Despite scoring the lone goal in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to Florida on Saturday, Vanek has just five goals and is on a pace to score a career-low 14 goals this year.

Granted, the winger is 34 years old now and is averaging just 13:24 minutes per game, a career-low as well. However, with recent injuries to players like Mike Green, Anthony Mantha and most recently Andreas Athanasiou, Vanek needs to get going and he says he’s losing sleep over his dropping numbers, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.

“It’s been a frustrating year,” Vanek said. “Even tonight, I felt good and should’ve had two, should’ve had three, and I walked away with one. It’s frustrating. I’m losing sleep over it, but at the same time, I got to stay positive and keep getting to the net, and hopefully it will turn quick.”

  • The Boston Bruins announced that while Jake Debrusk, Kevan Miller and Zdeno Chara would all be out for today’s game against Carolina, head coach Bruce Cassidy said that all three could be back immediately after the Christmas break on Thursday when they play New Jersey. Debrusk hasn’t played since Dec. 6, while Miller has been out since Nov. 26. Chara has been out the longest since Nov. 14. If all three come back, the Bruins might be as close to fully heathy as they ever have been.
  • Newsday’s Aaron Gross writes that New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, who has been out for a week with a concussion, participated in the team’s optional morning skate. He also skated on Friday and hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his recovery. There is no timeline yet for his return, but the team hopes it will be soon.
  • While the Toronto Maple Leafs have already recalled forward Trevor Moore, the youngster could find himself with the team for quite a bit longer than a simple cup of coffee after Saturday night’s injury to Tyler Ennis. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported late last night that Ennis broke his ankle on a shot from Morgan Rielly in the second period. Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said “he’ll be out a while.” Ennis was having a impressive season in a bottom-line role as he already had seven goals and 11 points in 33 games.

Atlantic Notes: Nylander, Miller, Athanasiou, Zadina

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While there was an expectation that the Toronto Maple Leafs would even get better once they signed William Nylander to a six-year, $45MM deal, the team hasn’t gotten the production out of their young star so far as many would have hoped. The 22-year-old sat out for the first 59 days of the season holding out, but has struggled so far since returning to the Toronto lineup.

So far the forward has just two assists in seven games and while he is undoubtedly still trying to shake off the rust after such a long layoff, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn (subscription required) writes that Nylander has been the worst player on the ice for the Maple Leafs lately, pointing out his most recent performance against Florida was quite sub-par, including making several mistakes, including missing a wide-open shot from Connor Brown at one point, while never taking a single shot against the Panthers. While the scribe believes that Nylander will eventually turn it around, he believes that Nylander could continue his current trend for a bit more.

  • Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Hub reports that defenseman Kevan Miller will not be cleared until Dec. 27 at the earliest. The blueliner has been out since Nov. 26 after suffering cartilage damage to his larynx. The 31-year-old has only appeared in 11 games this season, but have to hope that Miller will be back within a week. The team does hope that Jake Debrusk will play Sunday.
  • The Detroit Red Wings played without Andreas Athanasiou Saturday and could be without him again on Sunday, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The 24-year old expected to play today, but was ruled out with an upper-body injury and he remains questionable for Sunday. Athanasiou is having a breakout year so far with 11 goals in just 32 games. His career-high is 18.
  • When the Detroit Red Wings allowed Filip Zadina to join the Czech National Team for the World Junior Champsionships, the team was well aware that the move could backfire. The Athletic’s Katie Strang (subscription required) writes there is always concern with injury, diminished returns or the potential that Zadina could return to some of his junior league habits, but the team still felt that playing at the World Juniors could be a huge benefit for Zadina’s development to get him ready for the NHL game. “I think that he knows that he’s not quite ready,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He’s close, but he has to work on other aspects of his game. When they call him up they don’t want him to come back here. Their whole plan — I can’t speak for them, but I don’t think they want to give him that thrill of getting called up and have that disappointment of getting sent down.”

 

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