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Kevan Miller Confirmed To Miss Start Of Season

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Last month, the Boston Bruins revealed that defenseman John Moore would miss the beginning of the regular season due to off-season shoulder surgery. At the time, they also mentioned that Kevan Miller was also at risk of missing the start to the year while continuing to recover from a fractured knee cap. The team has now followed that up with confirmation that Miller will not participate in the preseason and will not be ready to begin the season, per NBC Sports Boston.

Miller, 31, struggled through a litany of injuries last season that caused him to miss 43 regular season games and the Bruins’ entire playoff run. It was the fractured knee cap that cost him the stretch run and postseason and severely limited his off-season training. GM Don Sweeney stated that Miller is not even ready to begin skating with the team yet and is a ways away from a return at this point. Even once he is healthy, one has to question what Miller’s role will be in Boston moving forward. The physical rearguard was clearly slowed by his injuries when active last season, recording just seven assists, playing a less intense style in his own end and, as a result, logging his lowest average ice time since his rookie season. Given his injury history and continuing concerns, the Bruins extended fellow righties Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer to multi-year deals this off-season, while the newly extended Charlie McAvoy and yet-to-be-signed Brandon Carlo are clearly the future on the right side of the blue line. Entering a contract year, it seems unlikely that Miller has a future in Boston and could find it hard to earn starts and ice time over his potential 2020-21 replacements once he returns.

While Miller and Moore are out, the Bruins’ depth should be capable of shouldering the burden. McAvoy is back under contract and the team will likely move on Carlo soon. In fact, Sweeney mentioned that the absences of Miller and Moore could allow the Bruins to employ Long-Term Injured Reserve if necessary to sign Carlo. Those two plus Clifton and Kampfer give the Bruins good options on the right side. On the left side, captain Zdeno Chara has faced his own injury concerns this off-season, but it is looking optimistic for a healthy start to the season. Torey Krug, Matt Grzelcyk, and numerous promising minor league prospects provide options behind him as well. The team will also host Alex Petrovic on a PTO in camp, who would provide even more stability as an experienced stay-at-home defenseman. Whoever returns earlier from injury between Miller and Moore will likely have a leg up in winning back regular play time, while the other could struggle to carve out a role. The four years remaining on Moore’s contract do give him an advantage over Miller though, again putting into question the immediate future of the injury-prone veteran.

Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Chara, Markov

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Although the Bruins are in need of some salary cap space, NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty posits that it’s likely too early for them to consider parting with center David Krejci, who carries a team-high $7.25MM AAV.  While he’s coming off a relatively quiet postseason that saw him score just four goals in 24 games, it’s also worth noting that he matched his career high in points during the regular season with 73.  While the team has some quality prospects down the middle in their system, none of them are ready to step into that role just yet which means that dealing Krejci would likely create a hole that can’t be filled just yet internally.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with the Bruins, defenseman Zdeno Chara acknowledged to Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that he’s unsure as to whether or not he will be available for the first game of the regular season. He underwent surgery on both his jaw and elbow over the summer which delayed his offseason training considerably.  If he isn’t available to play, Boston’s back end to start the season could look a whole lot different than the one that finished the Stanley Cup Final back in June with both Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy unsigned and John Moore and Kevan Miller still recovering from injuries.
  • While veteran defenseman Andrei Markov has made it clear that he would like to sign with Montreal, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told RDS’ Marc Denis that they will not be bringing back the 40-year-old. Instead, he intends to give their prospect group a chance to make an impact this coming season.  Markov spent the last two seasons in the KHL but wants to return to the NHL for what is believed to be his final season; he recently hired Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey to take care of contract talks over handling them himself as he did two summers ago.

Boston Bruins Re-Sign Steven Kampfer

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Tuesday: The Bruins have officially announced the contract, confirming the duration and salary reported by Seravalli.

Monday: Defensive depth proved to be key for a Boston Bruins team that struggled with injuries on the blue line throughout the regular season and into the postseason. All but one the 12 different defenseman that took the ice for the Bruins this season were under team control moving forward, either under contract or as restricted free agents. But the team has worked quickly to rectify the situation with that lone outlying unrestricted free agent. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Boston has re-signed Steven Kampfer to a two-year deal worth $800K annually.

Kampfer, 30, began his second stint with the Bruins last summer, when he was traded by the New York Rangers in the deal that landed Adam McQuaid. Kampfer began the year as Boston’s eighth defenseman, but as a bevy of injuries plagued the team all year, particularly fellow veteran righty Kevan Miller, Kampfer ended up playing in 35 games and was the only Bruins defenseman who began the year on the NHL roster that did not miss time due to injury. Kampfer proved to be an optimal extra man, as his experience and sound defensive play made him a great plug-and-play option. While not much of an offensive contributor, Kampfer is valued for his ability to step in and play a smart, safe defensive game, rarely looking out of place when he filled in.

The two-year term on Kampfer’s new contract is telling for multiple reasons. First, it means that the Bruins see Kampfer as more than just a year-to-year investment and the future of the team’s blue line is far less certain beyond next season. Two of Boston’s biggest injury concerns on defense, 41-year-old Zdeno Chara and accident-prone Kevan Miller, are also not signed beyond next year. So while the team is very deep on the back end next year, there is a chance that they could lose some of that depth a year from now and Kampfer could be even more important then than he is next season. Additionally, Seravalli reports that there has been interest in Kampfer from other teams. That news plus the two-year term makes it a safe assumption that this is a one-way deal for Kampfer. Such a contract won’t be as appealing on waivers if the Bruins do need to move Kampfer to the minor leagues. Although John Moore will not be ready to start the season due to recent major surgery, at some point during the year the team could hypothetically have Kampfer, Moore, Chara, Miller, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Torey Krug, and Matt Grzelcyk all healthy, which could make Kampfer the odd man out if there is a roster crunch.

A team-friendly contract for a familiar and reliable player on a cap-strapped team would seem to be good news all around for the Bruins. However, barring a trade or another year of rampant injuries, Kampfer’s extension does not bode well for promising prospects like Connor Clifton, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, and Jeremy Lauzon. All four got into the Bruins’ lineup this season, but the odds of a return appearance just took a hit. The circumstances are especially troubling for Clifton, who played in 19 regular season games and 18 playoff games this year and looked ready to take on Boston’s first man up role next year. After getting so close to a Stanley Cup title this year, Kampfer’s extension is clearly a sign of a team focused on winning now, even if that means burying their budding prospects for another year or two.

Snapshots: Lehner, No. 31 Pick, Bruins

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By all accounts, Robin Lehner is the second-best goalie on the free agent market behind Sergei Bobrovsky. His most recent team, the New York Islanders, need a starting goalie and if it’s not Bobrovsky, they can’t do any better on the open market than re-signing Lehner. So why hasn’t a deal come together yet? Well, it’s not Lehner who’s to blame. Speaking at the NHL Awards media availability today, Lehner spoke honestly about wanting to return to New York, as relayed by NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Lehner said that he does not want to be a UFA and hopes to re-sign with the Islanders before July 1st. He even went so far as to say that the term of the extension does not matter; he would be willing to sign a short-term or long-term deal to remain in New York. If Lehner wants to return and term doesn’t matter, that would seemingly imply that either GM Lou Lamoriello and the Isles want to explore other options or they aren’t satisfied with Lehner’s salary demands. Regardless, it seems unlikely that they will find a better and easier fit than simply re-signing the 27-year-old. In his own words, Lehner expressed his hope that he will don an Islanders jersey again next season and beyond:

I know the team knows where I stand and I just hope something works out… I like the people there. I love my teammates. I love the organization. So obviously I want to be back.

  • The Athletic’s John Vogl writes that the Buffalo Sabres will be tempted to trade away the final pick of the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night. In such a deep draft class, the No. 31 represents the last opportunity for a team to trade back into the first round before more than 12 hours pass before the start of Day Two, during which time teams will be able to talk more in-depth about trades to move up in the second round for the top available prospects. Seeing as the Sabres will have already picked in the first round – their own selection coming at No. 7 – the team may be willing to move back and recoup more picks if they aren’t in love with any player available at the end of the first. There has been speculation that teams may try to trade back in to get in front of the start of the next tier of centers that could open the second round. Vogl writes that previous deals where a team has dealt away the final first-rounder have been a toss-up and the Sabres return will largely dictate whether it’s a smart move. In a deep draft in which the Sabres are without a second-round pick, potentially picking up multiple mid-round picks could be a smart move. So long as Buffalo is able to do better than the last team to deal away the final pick – the Pittsburgh Penguins sent theirs and Oskar Sundqvist to the St. Louis Blues for Ryan Reaves and a second-rounder in 2017 – they should consider a move.
  • As if the Boston Bruins’ first list of post-playoff injuries wasn’t bad enough, the team has since updated even more injuries. In addition to a fractured jaw and lower-body injury, captain Zdeno Chara will also require surgery on his elbow to clean up loose fragments. The 42-year-old was miraculously playing through several injuries in the postseason, but fortunately none are expected to impact the start of next season. Joakim Nordstrom, another key playoff contributor, was playing through a foot fracture in the Stanley Cup Final, but it will merely require rest to heal. Finally, the team announced that Anders Bjork, who missed the second half of the season following shoulder surgery, is recovering well and should be ready for the start of the season. If Bjork can get up to speed, he should challenge for a roster spot in Boston next season. Chris Wagner also stated that he had surgery to repair a broken arm suffered in the Eastern Conference Final, but was shockingly able to rehab in a few weeks time and was actually cleared to play in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup, but it was a coach’s decision that he sit. In one final update, the team revealed that John Moore has been scheduled for surgery next week to repair a broken humerus. Moore suffered the injury in the regular season finale, but somehow played ten playoff games nevertheless. Of all of the Bruins’ reported injuries, including Kevan Miller’s twice-broken knee cap and Brad Marchand’s barrage of muscle damage, Moore’s has to be considered the worst. It will require four to six months of rehab, meaning Moore is very doubtful for the start of the season and may need some luck to play again before the end of the calendar year.

Playoff Notes: Thomas, Tarasenko, Chara, Wagner, Grzelcyk

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The St. Louis Blues will be without forward Ivan Barbashev on Sunday for Game 6 after being suspended one game for an illegal check to the head against Boston’s Marcus Johansson in Game 5. However, the St. Louis Blues may get a break, as there is a solid chance that rookie Robert Thomas may be ready to replace Barbashev in the lineup.

Thomas, who hasn’t played since Game 1 due to a wrist injury, was on the ice for a full practice Saturday with no limitations and St. Louis Blues interim coach Craig Berube later declared Thomas as a game-time decision for Sunday, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac. The 19-year-old forward did participate in practices between Games 3 and 4, but was only a partial participant and spent most of his time on the ice working separately from the rest of the team. However, that wasn’t the case Saturday, according to teammate Pat Maroon: “He’s been working hard to get back in the lineup, so we’ll see tomorrow if he plays. Obviously, it’s always good to see the kid out there skating around. He’s been just itching to get back out there with the guys, so it’s good to see him out there.”

  • NHL.com’s Tracey Myers adds that the St. Louis Blues expect star forward Vladimir Tarasenko to play on Sunday despite missing practice on Saturday after his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child on Friday. It was unlikely that Tarasenko would have missed a critical Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final; he has been a key to the team’s offensive success with 16 points in 24 playoff games.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara spoke to the press for the first being hit in the jaw with the puck in Game 4. Although he looked uncomfortable speaking, Chara said he was fine and has no limitations when it comes to playing in Game 6 on Sunday. Chara did play in Game 5, although he only skated 16:42 and the Bruins felt the need to dress seven defensemen. Chara refused to answer when asked whether his jaw was broken.
  • Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy also revealed that the team is expecting to be without Chris Wagner and Matt Grzelcyk for Game 6. Wagner, who hasn’t played since May 14 with an upper-body injury, is doubtful to play on Sunday, but is a possibility if Boston can force a Game 7. Grzelcyk has not yet been medically cleared to play after sustaining a concussion during Game 2.

Zdeno Chara Suffers Broken Jaw

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If you needed any confirmation that Zdeno Chara is a tough customer, it came today when Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic and Christian Fauria of WEEI both reported that the Boston Bruins captain suffered a broken jaw last night. Chara skated off under his own power after taking a puck to the mouth and returned to the bench wearing a full face shield in order to be with his teammates for the third period. He didn’t play for the rest of the game, and his series now may be in jeopardy.

The Bruins have not officially confirmed the diagnosis—and likely won’t while the playoffs are still ongoing—but losing Chara would be a huge blow to the team. Even though the 42-year old defenseman isn’t quite as mobile as he once was, he’s still an effective player for the Bruins and had been averaging more than 22 minutes a night. He leads the entire playoffs with a +12 rating, and is the Bruins’ primary penalty killing defenseman.

Still, all is not lost for the Bruins. 22-year old Brandon Carlo may be playing the best hockey of his young career and can potentially suck up many of those short-handed minutes, while Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug remain top puck-moving options for Boston. Unfortunately Matt Grzelcyk is also out due to the concussion he suffered in game two, though his status for the next game has also not been confirmed at this point. That means the team might have to turn to players like Steven Kampfer or 20-year old Urho Vaakanainen to get through the next few games.

Game five goes Thursday night in Boston.

Playoff Notes: Marchand, Dunn, Thomas, Chara

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Boston Bruins fans got a scare Sunday when star forward Brad Marchand was missing from practice as Karson Kuhlman took his place in practice, according to NHL.com’s Matt Kalman, making many wonder if Marchand would be made available for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, which start on Monday.

“He had a maintenance day today, so that’s all, he’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said about Marchand.

There was some concern that Marchand, who leads the Bruins with 18 points (seven goals and 11 assists) in 17 games, injured his left hand in Thursday’s scrimmage when he bumped into Connor Clifton and returned to the bench at one point, favoring his left hand. However, he continued playing in the scrimmage.

“I’ve been trying to get out of practice every day this week,” Marchand joked. “It’s just been dragging out here, so we’re excited for it to start tomorrow and it should be fun.”

Kalman also writes that David Krejci, who has been out with a fever the last couple of days, practiced today and is expected to be ready for Monday’s game as well.

  • St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn, who has missed three straight games after taking a puck to the head during Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks, has traveled with the team to Boston and skated with the team Sunday, wearing a plastic face guard around his entire face, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is still considered doubtful for Game 1 as he practiced with the extra defensemen. Head coach Craig Berube said there is a chance that Dunn returns at some point in the playoffs. “That was the best he’s looked, which is a good sign. He’s pretty close,” Berube said.
  • Thomas also posts that St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas (undisclosed injury) did not skate among the regulars during practice on Sunday. He came out later in practice and worked on his own. However, Berube said that Thomas was “a go” for Monday and is expected to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Robby Fabbri filled in for Thomas on the third line.
  • In an in-depth piece on Boston Bruins 42-year-old defenseman Zdeno Chara, the Boston Globe’s Christopher L. Gasper writes that Chara expressed an interest to play until he’s 45, a claim very similar to the ones made by fellow New England athlete Tom Brady with the New England Patriots. “Obviously, I’m signed for next year. I’m planning to play. I want to compete and still play. I’ll be 43. I’m not, obviously, that far away. I’m taking it one year at a time,” Chara said. “I think you have to respect that things could change. It could go from my end, ‘Hey, I just don’t feel like it.’ Or it could be, ‘Hey, I still love it. I still have so much passion for it. I want to keep going.’ But I want to play until I can still be contributing to the game and still be effective. At the same time, you’ve got to realize that when there is a time there is a time. At this point, I’m still hungry. I still love the game. I have so much passion for it.”

 

 

Zdeno Chara Back At Practice, On Track To Begin Stanley Cup Final

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The 42-year-old Zdeno Chara may not be the same player he was ten or even five years ago, but he is still an integral part of the Boston Bruins’ success this season and postseason. When the veteran defenseman was forced to sit out Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, there was some panic from the fan base and likely a little within the organization as well. However, Chara’s teammates buckled down and ended the series in convincing fashion and in doing so bought their captain another eleven days of rest before the Stanley Cup Final. While many assumed that would be enough to get him back on the ice, there was no timeline for his return from an undisclosed injury.

That is until today, when Bruins provided some clarity on Chara’s status. According to NHL.com’s Eric Russo, Chara was back as a full participant in practice today, after only skating and working out over the weekend. Following the full 45-minute session, Chara was feeling good:

It was nice to be out there again, skated [on Sunday] then skated with the team. It was a good practice, good pace. I’m taking it one day at a time. [Tuesday’s] an off day, but get back at it on Wednesday… I’m not gonna lie, watching games is not fun. You want to play them and you want to be involved. For sure it was something that [I] was feeling that kind of anxiousness to play. But guys did a great job, won the game, so that’s great.

Chara is eager to get back in action and, given his apparent health with a week still to go before puck drop on Game One, he is well on his way to doing just that. As the respected veteran said, it is “one day at a time” right now, but Chara is certainly on track to be ready for the Stanley Cup Final. As the Bruins wait to see who they’ll be playing, they know that Chara is an important asset regardless. The future Hall of Famer remains one of the more dominating defensive presence’s in the game of hockey and hopes to put his ability and experience to work in pursuit of a second Stanley Cup title.

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.

Bruins Sign Zdeno Chara To A One-Year Extension

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Zdeno Chara will be sticking around with the Bruins for a little while longer.  The team announced that they have inked their captain to a one-year contract extension.  The deal will carry a base salary of $2MM with the opportunity to earn another $1.75MM in performance bonuses.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Chara will receive $1.25MM for playing in ten games, $250K if Boston makes the playoffs, and $250K if they win the Stanley Cup in 2020.

The 42-year-old is currently in his 21st NHL season (the 11th with Boston) and while he is no longer the high-end top pairing anchor he once was, he has still proven himself to be a valuable member of their back end.  This season, Chara has played in 55 games, collecting just 11 points but is still averaging nearly 21 minutes a night, third-most among Bruins rearguards.

In his career, Chara has played in 1,478 games between the Islanders, Senators, and Bruins which ranks fourth among all active players.  His next goal will be the 200th of his career and will make him just the 22nd defenseman all-time to reach that plateau.

The deal actually represents a sizable pay cut from his current contract which carries a $5MM base salary with the same bonus structure as this new pact.  While his offense has tailed off, this type of contract is certainly fair value for a mid-tier defender which is probably the best role for Chara at this stage of his career.

With the contract, the Bruins now have five of their top seven defenders locked up for next season with a total cap hit of $13.9MM guaranteed (not including the likely $1.25MM for Chara playing in ten games or Dennis Seidenberg’s buyout cost of $1.167MM).  That amount will go up considerably this summer with youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo slated to be restricted free agents.  Even so, Boston should be able to bring back their entire defense corps for next season, one that has been quite effective as their 186 goals allowed is the third fewest in the NHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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