This week is truly the dog days of the sports calendar with barely anything going on but thankfully, the Bruins gave us not one but two notable pieces of news this morning and this afternoon. First, the sad news: defenseman Kevan Miller is predictably retiring after an NHL career that was riddled with injuries. Next, the much happier news: defenseman Brandon Carlo signed a six-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $4.1 million. Miller finally hanging up his skates at the age of 33 after seven seasons with the black and gold was not a surprise but you have to appreciate a guy who gave everything he had to Boston. Like Miller, Carlo has only ever played for the B's but he is only 24 years old so hopefully he will be here for many more productive years to come.
When you think about it, these two players have more in common than you might think: they are both big, right-shot defensive-minded defensemen that are tough, dependable and great teammates from all indications. Unfortunately, the other trait that they both share is that they have suffered numerous serious injuries in their time with the Bruins. Miller's career-high for regular season games was 71 in 2015-16 and he only ever came close to that number one other time (68 two seasons later). Carlo has only played five seasons in the NHL but three of them have ended with injuries that forced him to miss the entire postseason (twice) or cut his playoffs short. For Miller, it was his legs and knees that suffered the brunt of such a rough-and-tumble career that started at the Berkshire School in Western MA, then he starred at the University of Vermont before signing with the Providence Bruins in 2011 as an undrafted free agent. For Carlo, it was leg and knee issues that plagued him (he's twice been hurt in regular season finales) before he suffered yet another concussion this past postseason against the Islanders.
Ironically, not having either of these guys available against New York was a major reason why the Bruins fell short in six games in their second-round series. If one or both of them were healthy, you have to feel like at least the series would have gone to seven games or perhaps the B's might have squeaked by the Isles. We'll never know but we can only wish that Carlo has better injury luck for the rest of his NHL career. Concussions are so scary because they affect everyone differently and you never know when one can end your career. On a more positive note, Carlo need to look no further than Boston's captain Patrice Bergeron who had a horrifying stretch of concussions very early in his Bruins career but he has overcome that and put together a Hall of Fame career since then. Obviously, I'm not saying that Carlo is headed for the Hall of Fame but when he is on top of his game, he is one of Boston's best defensemen. He is not Charlie McAvoy who is going to get a boatload of money in his first significant pro deal but Carlo should be a big part of their future as the team eventually turns over to younger guys like him.
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