Obscure former Boston Bruins: Colin Miller

Before free agency started and the NHL offseason picked up gears, I started doing a series on obscure former members of the Boston Bruins, with my most recent one being on Lee Stempniak. With the NHL news slowing down again, I’m bringing it back, with this edition being on defenseman Colin Miller.

Miller was a fifth round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 out of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. He was dealt to the Bruins in June of 2015 along with Martin Jones and a first round pick that became Jakub Zboril in exchange for Milan Lucic.

That season, Miller made his NHL debut, scoring three goals and adding 13 assists for 16 points, averaging 15:48 of ice time that season in 42 games of action. His role grew in 2016-2017, scoring six goals with seven assists in 61 games, though his average ice time was only one second higher at 15:49. He had one assist in four playoff games that year.

Following that season, Miller was left unprotected ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft, and he was selected by the Knights on draft night. He played all 82 games and scored 41 points, a career high by a wide margin, that still stands to this day.

Miller then played one more season with Vegas before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for two draft picks in a cap dump for the Knights. He played out the last three years of that contract with the Sabres, amassing 37 points while averaging 17:57 of ice time in 137 games with the Sabres.

Entering the 2022-2023 season, Miller signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars. He scored 21 points and had a +23 rating over 79 regular season contests. He had one assist in 10 playoff games in the Stars run, which ended in the conference final at the hands of Vegas.

On day one of NHL free agency this year, Miller was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a fifth round pick in 2025. Miller will play out the final year of his contract that has a $1.85 million AAV before being able to test the market again.

During his NHL career, Miller has proven to be a reliable depth defenseman who won’t do anything super flashy but will more often than not get the job done. I don’t think anyone is pining for Colin Miller to be on the Bruins now, but he’s in a nice situation right now with the Devils.