Dec 12, 2013; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller (86) skates against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
This morning the Boston Bruins announced that they have recalled defenseman Kevan Miller from Providence on an emergency basis. Kevan Miller has played solidly in his previous games for the big Bruins. He earned his first NHL goal versus the Maple Leafs in Toronto on December 8th. Miller has one goal and one assist with a plus-two rating in his previous nine starts with Boston.
No objections here. Miller is a good fit for Boston. He’ll continue to do well wearing the ‘B’, and is a solid addition to the roster. The only problem for Boston is they now have a few ugly choices coming down the road.
Ryan Spooner and Kevan Miller have crossed the ten game threshold. If either of them get sent down now, they’ll have to pass through the gauntlet of waivers before they get reassigned back to Providence. Other teams have been battling injuries this season, and it’s practically guaranteed that if either player got send back down, they would be snatched up by another hockey club.
Dennis Seidenberg‘s injury only partially alleviates this problem. The Bruins will be placing him on long term injured reserve as his injury will take him out for the season. In this regard, Miller now has a safe spot (based on performance) for the rest of the season. This clears up the issue for the Bruins on the blue line, but there will be a situation the Bruins need to address(and soon) with their forwards.
The injured (or suspended) will soon be returning to the line up. When this happens, the Bruins’ front office is finally going to have to figure out what they’re going to do with Jordan Caron. We know they saw him as another Patrice Bergeron, but it’s pretty clear that he’s not. To be completely fair, the Bruins have given Caron more opportunities than they did with Tyler Seguin. (In hindsight though, Reilly Smith and Loui Eriksson have been better fits in the roster.)
In the next few weeks as members of the organization get snapped up to play for their home countries’ respective Olympic teams. (The Bruins international flavor guarantees that the Black and Gold will be splitting up to play for at least five different nations.) The Bruins will need to take a look at their forwards and have to make a tough but logical choice in either trading a player like Caron, or risk putting a player like Spooner through the waiver net.