Boston Bruins

Have you heard the news? The Boston Bruins are pretty good this year.

They went 14-0-0 at TD Garden before Monday's shootout loss to Vegas, setting a new NHL record for the longest home streak to start a season. They persevered through key injuries, goaltender Linus Ullmark is making an early case for Vezina contention, and it looks like new head coach Jim Montgomery is panning out.

At 20-3-1, it's time to take a closer look at what's behind the magic for the No. 1 team in the Atlantic. Plenty of little and big things have come together for Boston, so let's rank some of the most evident in order of significance.

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9. Closing Time

Surely we all remember those iconic Semisonic lyrics: "Closing time, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay on the TD Garden ice for the goalie hug."

The Bruins have had some wild comeback efforts and otherwise strong scoring performances in third periods.

https://twitter.com/iyer_prashanth/status/1597015935881121792

Is that a good thing, a bad thing or just a thing?

We'll see.

I'd argue the ability to turn it on and decide to win in the third could be good for confidence come playoffs, but at the same time, you don't want to get too confident and think you can have a horrible first period when the other team is giving it 110 percent.

Their first home loss—a shootout against Vegas on Monday—is the best example you'll get of this. The Bruins went down 0-3 against the other best team in the league, climbed back to tie it up and force overtime and lost in the shootout with their backup goalie.

Maybe the pain of losing to former head coach Bruce Cassidy in that fashion will teach them a lesson, but honestly, they had to lose at home at some point this season, and they still got a point against the best team in the West.

It's hard to find this pattern too troubling—for now.

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8. Rising up to Top Teams

I'll hand it to the naysayers; at least they were creative. Instead of going for the typical "Is X team peaking early?" trope when it came to these Bruins, they opted for strength of schedule complaints.

The parity in the NHL is so evident right now that Boston's start would've been impressive regardless of who they played, and, yes, the schedule early on featured teams projected on the weaker side.

But the season was so young, and, in retrospect, some of those projections have already changed. The Bruins beat the Stars, Penguins Red Wings, Lightning (twice), Hurricanes and Avalanche, and most recently came back to take the Golden Knights to a shootout. I'm not writing any of those opponents off.

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7. David Krejčí

People have underestimated David Krejčí's impact his entire career, and the reception to his return to the Bruins on a one-year contract this season was no different.

To be fair, Krejčí is 36 and left the NHL to play for HC Olomouc in the Czech Republic last season. But he said that wasn't a matter of slowing down or writing off the NHL forever; he understandably wanted to be closer to home during the uncertainty of a pandemic.

Krejčí's re-signing with the Bruins also flew under the radar amidst the will-he-won't-he saga with captain Patrice Bergeron's contract.

Per usual, the noise had no negative impact on Krejčí's play. He's Boston's fourth-highest scorer with eight goals and 19 points in 21 games. Even more importantly, he's a stabilizing, elder presence on the "Czech mix" line with superstar David Pastrnak and Bruins newcomer Pavel Zacha.

There's been so much fuss about "the perfection line" in recent years (as there should be), but these days in the NHL, depth scoring is just as necessary. Krejčí deserves all of the flowers and respect while he's still an active player, and the way he held down the fort during the Bruins' injury issues at the beginning of the season is a pretty accurate microcosm of his entire career with the franchise.

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6. Jim Montgomery and Winning for Each Other

He hasn't been a particularly loud presence in the media, and you get the feeling he wants to let his players—and what they've done on the ice—do the talking. They have praised their first-year coach Jim Montgomery for many things early in his tenure, but they all have the theme of building confidence and freedom. They seem to really love Montgomery, and that matters.

I'd also venture a guess that the Bruins' success at home has at least something to do with the positions Montgomery can put his players in with home-ice advantage. Maybe it's a galaxy-brain take, but perhaps we'll do a deep dive into Boston's systems to figure it out later.

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5. Somewhat Unexpected Depth

The health of the Bruins' core was in rough shape heading into the season, with Brad Marchand (hip), Charlie McAvoy (left shoulder), and Matt Grzelcyk (right shoulder) all out with no specific timelines in sight. Many doubted—especially after last season's first-round exit—that the next men up could handle replacing these three in terms of production and minute-eating.

Many were wrong.

The aforementioned Krejčí was obviously huge before Marchand's surprise early-ish return on Oct. 27. So was Jake DeBrusk, who has been the best version of himself since his first-line promotion and has eight goals and 17 points in 23 games this season.

Taylor Hall has had a revival of the clutch factor that once single-handedly dragged the Devils into the playoffs. Pavel Zacha has proved a great acquisition. Heck, even Nick Foligno looks like he's in his prime again.

One skater's ability to step up has been the most important, though…

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4. Hampus Lindholm

Lindholm was always great on the Ducks, and please excuse the East Coast bias, but even then, I didn't realize just how much I'd enjoy watching him play defense night in and night out.

He's fit so well into the Bruins' system, and it's one of those things where you wish Charlie McAvoy were fully healthy the whole season. Nonetheless, his absence has given Lindholm an opportunity to shine and created some good problems regarding the defensive pairs.

Even with McAvoy back, Lindholm is leading Bruins skaters in average time on ice, logging 24:18 per game. He's been a key part of Boston's massively effective penalty kill as well as the power play. He's on pace for a career year statistically with four goals, 19 points and a plus-22 in 24 games.

According to naturalstattrick.com, the Bruins have a 68.8 percent of the goal share at 5-on-5 with Lindholm on the ice.

They wouldn't be where they are right now without him as the No. 1 defenseman through a significant stretch.

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3. The Return of Patrice Bergeron

Perhaps the return of captain Patrice Bergeron has been most important off the ice. As effective as the perennial Selke contender still is in his first-line center role, I've been thinking a lot about the way he handled the Bruins' signing of Mitchell Miller. As a juvenile, Mitchell racially abused and bullied Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities.

The way he spoke out against it paved the way for his teammates to do the same, and Bruins management acknowledged the players' opposition was part of the reason they took back Miller's offer.

This situation could have ended poorly in several ways, but Bergeron instead made sure fans were clear of his and his teammates' stances on the matter and refused to let it hang over the players' heads. This leadership ensured Miller would not become a Bruin, and it ensured the room was on the same page and there would be no lingering internal animosity.

There's no doubt in my mind this could've sent another team with a different captain off the rails. The Bruins have Bergeron.

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2. David Pastrňák

When you think of the 2022-23 Boston Bruins, there's a good chance David Pastrňák comes to mind first. Through 24 games played, he's leading the team with 17 goals and 35 points, the latter of which is good for fifth overall in the NHL.

Not to mention, he scores the type of goals and makes the type of plays you dreamed of doing yourself as a kid when you thought you'd make it to the NHL.

According to naturalstattrick.com, Pastrňák has 27 high-danger chances at 5-on-5, which is pretty impressive considering seven of his 17 goals have come during a man-advantage. Interestingly enough, he's also drawn 10 penalties.

Pastrňák has kept the Bruins afloat on the scoresheet while key players were missing. He's simply electric, he's Boston's power play ace and he's doing it all in the face of a contract year.

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1. Linus Ullmark

Linus Ullmark has been a consistently above-average goaltender since he entered the NHL in 2015, especially considering he spent most of those years bouncing around a struggling Sabres system.

Even so, I doubt many people had him slated as a 2022-23 Vezina contender, but here we are. The Bruins' 20-3-1 start full of records simply wouldn't have been possible without Ullmark's (14-1-0) elevated performance.

His goals-against average of 1.93 (hello!), save percentage of .936 and 14 wins are all tops in the NHL. According to moneypuck.com, his goals saved above expected is a solid 10.6.

You also think about how badly the Bruins needed a stabilizing figure in net to build confidence at the beginning of a season without key players. Ullmark more than provided that reassurance.

This has to be the best start to a season for a Bruins goaltender since Tim Thomas in 2010-11. No pressure.

The Boston Bruins announced Tuesday that they have hired an independent firm to review the team's player-vetting process following the signing of Mitchell Miller.

The Bruins said in a statement:

"The Boston Bruins strive every day to live our values and meet the high standards our associates, fans and community have come to expect. This includes treating everyone inside and outside our organization with dignity and respect. We recently fell short of our high standards and disappointed both ourselves and many in our community. Moving forward, we are committed to ensuring that our values are reflected in everything we do as an organization, including our process for vetting future players.

"As part of this commitment, the Boston Bruins have retained an experienced and respected team of professionals, led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch of the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, to conduct an independent review of our player-vetting process. This will help us ensure that our process going forward reflects our core values. The Bruins organization will fully cooperate with the independent review team and will publicly disclose the results of the review upon its completion."

The Bruins signed Miller to an entry-level contract earlier this month with the intention of assigning him to the team's American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins. The decision was met with immense criticism and backlash, and the organization announced a few days later that they had decided to part ways with him.

The Arizona Coyotes selected Miller in the 2020 NHL draft, but his draft rights were relinquished less than one month after he was picked following a story published by Craig Harris and José M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that revealed harrowing details of Miller's past.

In 2016, Miller was convicted in Ohio juvenile court of bullying and assaulting a Black, developmentally disabled classmate, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers.

The Arizona Republic story detailed how Miller would direct racial slurs toward Meyer-Crothers and physically assault him while the two were in middle school. Miller also wiped a lollipop in a bathroom urinal and tricked Meyer-Crothers into eating it.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the Bruins did not consult the league before signing Miller, who he said is "not eligible at this point to come into the NHL."

Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement announcing the team would be parting with Miller:

"The decision to sign this young man was made after careful consideration of the facts as we were aware of them: that at 14 years old he made a poor decision that led to a juvenile conviction. We understood this to be an isolated incident and that he had taken meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing personal development. Based on that understanding we offered him a contract.

"Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins. We hope that he continues to work with professionals and programs to further his education and personal growth."

Neely added that the Bruins would be "reevaluating" their "internal processes for vetting individuals who wish to earn the privilege of playing."

A number of Bruins players admitted before Miller's release that they did not agree with the signing of Miller, including team captain Patrice Bergeron and veteran forward Nick Foligno.

Bergeron said, per Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston:

"I was asked by Don (Bruins GM Don Sweeney) close to a week ago for my opinion. I had my concerns. I shared my opinion. In a way, I was not necessarily agreeing with it. To be honest with you, the culture that we’ve built here goes against that type of behavior. We’re a team that’s built something about character, character people and individuals. What he did, obviously, is unacceptable and we don’t stand by that.

"For me, I know for myself, anyways, in this locker room, we’re all about inclusion, diversity, respect. Those are key words and core values that we have. We expect guys to wear this jersey to be high-character people with integrity and respect. That’s how they should be acting."

🎥 #NHLBruins captain Patrice Bergeron addresses the media ahead of tonight's game against the Maple Leafs in Toronto: pic.twitter.com/Jinxb0Y9U5

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 5, 2022

The Bruins have posted their best start in franchise history at 14-2-0. However, the signing of Miller cast a dark cloud over the organization, and the player still hasn't been officially released.

According to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa, the Bruins can't terminate Miller's contract "without facing a grievance that the NHLPA would be likely to pursue." Shinzawa noted a number of steps the organization could take to officially rid itself of Miller include buying out his contract at the end of the 2022-23 season or negotiating a settlement.

It's hard to choose which disaster to start with when it comes to the Boston Bruins' signing of Mitchell Miller on Friday and their taking it back by Sunday.

There have been so many head-scratching discrepancies that you question the competency of the front office at best, and its morality at worst.

It doesn't even feel like justice that the Bruins announced they would cut ties with Miller in light of "new information." They already knew when they signed him that Miller had been convicted in juvenile court in 2016 of racially abusing and bullying Black classmate Isaiah Meyer-Crothers.

And Meyer-Crothers is all I can think about. Don't let the rest distract you from how severely the Bruins' "vetting process" failed a victim.

The "old boys' club" tells us repeatedly that playing in the NHL is a privilege, not a right. We're sold this vague concept, and we're told hockey is the best sport in the world because of the character of the men in the room. Through this intentional vagueness, you and I might fill in the blanks with our own definitions of character and what it means to earn a privilege.

Character doesn't begin and end when you enter the locker room. It should extend to how you conduct yourself off the ice, and Miller egregiously failed.

The Boston Globe's Matt Porter asked Bruins GM Don Sweeney after the signing what Miller had done to earn the privilege to potentially play for the Bruins.

"With us doing a lot of background work over the course of the last six months, almost a year now, and spending time in particular recently with Mitchell ... his acknowledgment of the mistakes he made when he was in eighth grade and 14 years old, and it's more about what he's going to do now—not ever losing sight of the disrespect that he showed to the young man," Sweeney said. "... We're going to put him in community programs so that he continues to educate himself and others as to what being disrespectful does for you and how you carry that with you for the rest of your life."

Words matter. According to Sweeney, Miller was a 14-year-old eighth-grader in 2016, but the classmate he bullied for years, Meyer-Crothers, who has developmental disabilities, was a "young man."

According to Sweeney, what Miller did was merely disrespectful. It was actually a pattern of verbal and physical abuse.

This included Miller's telling Meyer-Crothers his mom and dad didn't love him, calling him the N-word on a daily basis, punching him in the head repeatedly and tricking him into eating a urine-soaked lollipop, forcing him to get tested for hepatitis and STDs.

And according to Sweeney, Miller could make amends by acting as a cautionary tale to all the other promising players: This is "what being disrespectful does for you and how you carry that with you for the rest of your life."

I'm more interested in how Meyer-Crothers is carrying it with him.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers told the Arizona Republic in 2020. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. ... Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

Bruins president Cam Neely said Sunday that they were letting Miller go in light of "new information." But Miller's list of transgressions was already public knowledge.

It was public knowledge that, according to Joni Meyer-Crothers, Isaiah's mother, Miller has not shown genuine remorse. Miller reached out to Meyer-Crothers recently via Snapchat to apologize, saying it had "nothing to do with hockey," but his mother wasn't convinced.

Mind you, Meyer-Crothers has said she forgave her son's other bully after they offered a heartfelt apology.

On Monday, Neely said the Bruins had not reached out to Meyer-Crothers, and that this was part of the "new information" that led to the Bruins' rescinding the contract.

Why hadn't they reached out?

"That's a great question. Something I need to find out," Neely told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena.

How did the president of the team not know that? And how does he still not know the reason?

There were so many resources readily available, so much information about Miller already public that it seems like the "new information" Neely and Sweeney discovered was really continued backlash. The Arizona Coyotes rescinded their pick of Miller in 2020 after public outcry; how was this not a consideration?

Many Bruins fans have reached out to team and fan relations today to express their disappointment with decision to sign Mitchell Miller. There’s been so many that fans are getting an auto-reply informing them that they are experiencing higher than normal traffic.

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) November 5, 2022

Aside from the robust pressure Bruins fans and hockey fans applied since the signing was announced, we saw something arguably unprecedented in the NHL: public pushback by players on the team.

"It's not something anyone in this room stands for," Nick Foligno told reporters in Toronto on Saturday. "The culture that we've built is one of inclusion, and I think it goes against that. I understand he was 14 when he made this mistake, but it's hard for us to swallow because we take a lot of pride in here, the way we act, how we carry ourselves, what it means to be a Bruin."

Captain Patrice Bergeron said: "In a way, I was not necessarily agreeing with it. The culture we've built here goes against that behavior. ... If it's the same 14-year-old that would be walking into this locker room, he wouldn't be accepted and wanted and welcomed in this locker room."

Patrice Bergeron on speaking out about the Miller signing:

"To stay true to my values, really. ... It goes back to what we've built here as an organization, as a team, as a locker room.

"It's to be inclusive and a locker room of respect and integrity." pic.twitter.com/nzLhDigJKx

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 7, 2022

One day after these comments and more from Bruins players, the club parted ways with Miller.

"There were a lot of factors in this decision," Neely said, "and that was one of them."

The signing of Miller is now a permanent stain on the Bruins franchise, from the utter disregard of the Meyer-Crothers family to the exposure of incompetent communication among executives.

But maybe—just maybe—that Bruins players spoke out and pressured the team to reconsider will have a lasting impact in a league begging for an updated definition of character. The universal derision of the signing forced an Original Six franchise to back down from a morally dubious decision. It's a start for those who want to change the game for the better, but we still have so much further to go.

Next up is a phone call the Bruins clearly didn't make for a reason.

Boston Bruins president Cam Neely said the team made a mistake in signing prospect Mitchell Miller.

"The timing of it was never probably going to be good," Neely told reporters Monday. "I think it got down to the point of [whether] we're doing it or not. And we made the wrong decision."

The Bruins received criticism after signing Miller, who admitted in an Ohio juvenile court in 2016 to bullying former classmate Isaiah Meyer-Crothers. On Sunday, the team announced it was parting ways with the player.

"We like to take pride in what we do in the community and we hold ourselves accountable," Neely said Monday. "We dropped the ball and I'm here to apologize."

Miller had been a fourth-round draft pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020, but the team renounced his rights after details of the player's history were revealed. There were multiple incidents of bullying and harassing Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with disabilities. Other students confirmed his repeated use of the N-word directed toward Meyer-Crothers.

Miller showed remorse after his signing with the Bruins, although he indicated it was a single action that took place when he was in eighth grade.

"I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual," he said in a statement. "Since the incident, I have come to better understand the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand nearly seven years ago."

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league was not consulted before the Bruins signed Miller to a deal, adding the player is not currently eligible to play in the NHL:

#NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the recent signing of Mitchell Miller by the Boston Bruins. pic.twitter.com/9lOeNSEK5T

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) November 5, 2022

Neely indicated Monday that he didn't expect as much backlash as the team received.

"Well initially, I was I was thinking it was going to be, 'OK, this kid deserves a second chance,'" he said. "And, you know, I thought there would be some people that were going to be upset about it, but to the extent of this, I misread that."

Miller, now 20, spent the 2021-22 season with the Tri-City Storm in the USHL.

Boston Bruins president Cam Neely announced Sunday the team has parted ways with recently signed prospect Mitchell Miller.

Neely wrote in part:

"Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins. We hope that he continues to work with professionals and programs to further his education and personal growth."

The Bruins were widely criticized for signing Miller after the move was announced Friday. In 2016, he admitted to an Ohio juvenile court that he repeatedly bullied and harassed Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, a Black classmate with developmental disabilities. Miller was also accused of repeatedly using racist language toward Meyer-Crothers.

Neely apologized to Meyer-Crothers and his family.

"To Isaiah and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard," Neely stated. "We apologize for the deep hurt and impact we have caused."

The Arizona Coyotes initially selected the 20-year-old Miller with the No. 111 pick in the 2020 NHL draft but renounced his draft rights after news of the bullying broke via a report from Craig Harris and José M. Romero of the Arizona Republic.

The Oct. 2020 report stated the following:

"Four years ago, Miller admitted in an Ohio juvenile court to bullying Meyer-Crothers, who was tricked into licking a candy push pop that Miller and another boy had wiped in a bathroom urinal. Meyer-Crothers had to be tested for hepatitis, HIV and STDs, but the tests came back negative, according to a police report.

"Meyer-Crothers, also 18 and who now lives in Detroit, said Miller had taunted him for years, constantly calling him 'brownie' and the 'N-word,' while repeatedly hitting him while growing up in the Toledo suburb. Other students at their junior high confirmed to police that Miller repeatedly used the 'N-word' in referring to Meyer-Crothers."

"It hurt my heart to be honest," Meyer-Crothers said when asked about the Coyotes drafting Miller.

"It's stupid that they (the Coyotes) didn't go back and look what happened in the past, but I can't do anything about it."

Miller didn't end up with the Coyotes and played last season with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League, recording 83 points in 60 games and being named the league's player of the season.

The Bruins signed him to a three-year, $2,850,000 entry-level contract, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters that the league would conduct a full investigation into the bullying allegations if he was ever promoted from the minor leagues.

#NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the recent signing of Mitchell Miller by the Boston Bruins. pic.twitter.com/9lOeNSEK5T

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) November 5, 2022

Joni Meyer-Crothers, Isaiah's mother, spoke with NBC10 Boston after the Bruins signed him.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's a monster," she said.

"He told our son that his Black mom and dad didn't love him, that's why he had white parents. On a daily basis, was called the N-word. [Miller] would ask Isaiah to sit with him on the bus, and as soon as Isaiah would sit with him, him and his friends would just punch Isaiah in the head nonstop, and all he wanted was friends. So he was an easy target for Mitchell."

No specifics were given regarding the "new information" that pushed the Bruins to reverse course. There has been no direct comment from Miller nor his representatives in response to his release.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Saturday that Mitchell Miller isn't eligible to play in the league despite signing an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins on Friday.

Bettman said the league wasn't consulted before Miller's signing was announced, something he's since discussed with Bruins president Cam Neely, and noted the NHL would have to conduct a full investigation into a previous assault conviction against Miller if the team wanted to promote him from the minor leagues:

#NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the recent signing of Mitchell Miller by the Boston Bruins. pic.twitter.com/9lOeNSEK5T

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) November 5, 2022

The commissioner added Miller's ability to play with the Providence Bruins, the club's top affiliate, rests in the hands of the American Hockey League.

Miller was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 draft. The Coyotes renounced his rights in October 2020 after the Arizona Republic reported details from a 2016 conviction of assaulting and bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in Ohio as a juvenile.

On Saturday, the AHL released a statement to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic saying Miller's eligibility is under review by league president Scott Howson.

Both Miller and Neely described the situation as a one-off incident when the 20-year-old defenseman was 14 years old in statements released in coordination with the signing, which contrasts comments by Isaiah Meyer-Crothers and his mother, Joni Meyer-Crothers.

"When I was in eighth grade, I made an extremely poor decision and acted very immaturely," Miller said. "I bullied one of my classmates. I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual. Since the incident, I have come to better understand the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand nearly seven years ago. I strive to be a better person and positively contribute to society. As a member of the Bruins organization, I will continue to participate in community programs to both educate myself and share my mistakes with others to show what a negative impact those actions can have on others. To be clear, what I did when I was 14 years old was wrong and unacceptable. There is no place in this world for being disrespectful to others and I pledge to use this opportunity to speak out against mistreating others."

Neely said the organization spent time with Miller in an attempt to better understand the situation before deciding to move forward with the signing.

"Representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization," Neely said. "Respect and integrity are foundational character traits we expect of our players and staff. Prior to signing Mitchell, our Hockey Operations and Community Relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistake he made when he was in middle school. During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization."

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said the franchise didn't reach out to the victim's family as part of its process, though.

Meyer-Crothers previously described a pattern of assault, bullying and the use of racist terms, including "brownie" and the N-word, by Miller while they were classmates, an account verified by other students, according to the Arizona Republic.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers said. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. ... Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

In one instance, Miller and another student allegedly wiped a piece of candy on a urinal before tricking Meyer-Crothers into licking it.

The student's mother said the apology referenced by Miller in his statement came via Snapchat and he suggested it wasn't motivated by hockey, per NBC10's Malcolm Johnson and Marc Fortier.

"Well, it has everything to do with hockey," she said.

Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that Miller's actions go "against what we are as a culture and as a team:"

"I was on the fence."@FriedgeHNIC sat down with Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron and asked him about the team's signing of renounced Coyotes draft pick, Mitchell Miller. pic.twitter.com/3fUHWDJWkc

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 5, 2022

Boston forward Nick Foligno added members of the team were caught off guard by the signing.

"I don't think any guy was too happy," Foligno said Saturday.

The Bruins' next game is scheduled for Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Boston Bruins have signed Mitchell Miller two years after the Arizona Coyotes renounced his draft rights as a result of his history of bullying and racism as a juvenile was brought to light.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney announced Friday that Miller has signed an entry-level contract with the team

Boston president Cam Neely said in the announcement Miller had an evaluation period with the team's hockey operations and community operations departments in which he was "accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others."

Miller was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL draft by the Coyotes.

Three weeks after the draft, Craig Harris and José M. Romero of the Arizona Republic published a story about Miller in which he admitted in Ohio juvenile court to bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities as a high schooler in 2016.

Miller and a classmate were charged with assault and violating the Ohio Safe Schools Act after being accused of making Isaiah Meyer-Crothers eat a piece of candy they wiped in a bathroom urinal.

Speaking to Harris and Romero over the phone, Meyers-Crothers said Miller also called him "brownie" and the "N-word" and hit him.

In a police report obtained by Harris and Romero, some accounts of the incident said Miller and the classmate urinated on the candy before giving it to Meyer-Crothers. Other students at the school confirmed to police Miller used the N-word referring to Meyer-Crothers.

Miller and the other boy involved were sentenced to complete 25 hours of community service, write an apology through the court system to Meyer-Crothers, participate in counseling and pay court costs.

"He pretended to be my friend and made me do things I didn't want to do," Meyer-Crothers told Harris and Romero. "In junior high, I got beat up by him. … Everyone thinks he's so cool that he gets to go to the NHL, but I don't see how someone can be cool when you pick on someone and bully someone your entire life."

Joni Meyer-Crothers, Isaiah's mother, told Harris and Romero that Miller has never personally apologized to her son outside of the court-mandated letter.

Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez announced they renounced Miller's rights on Oct. 29, 2020.

Miller, 20, has spent the past two seasons playing for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League.

One of the best things about hockey is the uncertainty. We make our predictions, study the game to death, pretend to understand the charts that say the players we like are good and hope for the best. A lot of the time all of the preparation works out, but sometimes hockey forces us to throw it all out the window and enjoy the ride.

The 2022-23 NHL season isn't even one month old yet and there's already so much to be wrong about. Yay! I'm sure we'll get to the unpleasant surprises eventually, but for now, why don't we enjoy the good?

As it turns out, a lot of the pleasant surprises through the first two weeks of the season are oddly connected to each other. Noted Ottawa Senators fan Alanis Morissette said it best, "Life has a funny way of helping you out." Clearly, she was talking about the Vegas Golden Knights.

Anyway, let's take a look at the most pleasant surprises in the NHL while the season's still a baby.

1. Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres

Breaking news, folks: 2018 first overall draft pick Rasmus Dahlin might actually be good.

Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever learn our lesson when it comes to this stuff, but let Dahlin's current tear be another reminder to have some patience with the guys who go straight to the NHL. Next time an 18-year-old draft pick joins a bad team and doesn't immediately blow us all out of the water, shall we give it a few years? No? A girl can dream.

Looking back with context, Dahlin wasn't ever even performing at a level where I'd seriously think he was a bust. He was on a great trajectory before the pandemic, struggled along with his team in 2020-21 and showed more spurts of potential in 2021-22 with 13 goals and 53 points in 80 games. Of course, those spurts of potential came when Dahlin had a greater opportunity following Rasmus Ristolainen's trade, and they also came with a bad plus/minus—such is life as the best defenseman on a bad team.

But is the 22-year-old entering his true breakout season now, following a full season of important experience?

Six games in and the Buffalo Sabres are 4-2-0, and it was a particularly vibey 4-1-0 before Tuesday night's 5-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. Dahlin is currently leading all NHL defensemen in points with nine and goals with five in six games played, and the five-game season-starting goal streak he just snapped became an NHL record among defensemen.

Then there's goaltender Craig Anderson at the top of the league with his 2-0, 1.0 goals against average and .970 save percentage. We aren't kidding ourselves into believing this two-game sample means more than it does, but it's a good start.

All of this and we haven't even touched on Alex Tuch's seven points in six games or Tage Thompson's hot start, including his selection of "Fishin' in the Dark" for his goal song.

Obviously, it's ridiculous to read too much into things less than a month into the season, and like many, I've been fooled by a Sabres hot start or two in the very recent past. But I like what I see here, we'll see how they bounce back from this big loss to Seattle, and sometimes giving people room to spread their wings is the only way they get off the ground…

2. Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights

Speaking of the Sabres, Jack Eichel is off to a hot start in Vegas with three goals and seven points in eight games. The Golden Knights are doing better than expected in general at 6-2-0.

Eichel's hot start accounted for, you also have to give credit to goalie Logan Thompson, who has worked himself up from the ECHL to Vegas' No. 1 with Robin Lehner likely out for the season following hip surgery. Adin Hill hasn't been a shabby 1a, either.

I described every team with one word heading into the season, and for the Golden Knights, that word was "karma." They'd been flying too close to the sun with all the cap-space maneuvers and coaching hot seats already amassing in their short team history. It looks like they listened to Taylor Swift's new album, Midnights, and adopted her philosophy on karma—"Karma's a relaxing thought"—instead of mine, though.

There's also ironman Phil Kessel, who exudes good karma and sweats blue Powerade everywhere he goes.

And finally, there's new head coach Bruce Cassidy, who the team snatched up just over one week after the Boston Bruins somewhat surprisingly let him go. Now that I've laid it all out like this, I'm starting to feel bad about ever wishing ill upon this team…

3. The Bruins

Speaking of the Bruins, I tried to warn y'all that this team is not done. Despite the naysayers, Boston is 6-1-0 to start the season—and yes, Bostonians, I will mention they're doing that without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy before you beat me to it in the comments.

What's working?

David Pastrňák, aka Mr. Blank Check, for starters.

Pastrňák not only has five goals and 12 points in seven games, but he's making it look fun in true Pastrňák fashion. That's an easy one, especially with his friend David Krejčí back in the mix. Arguably even more encouraging for the Bruins has been their scoring depth. Of all who have skated in every Bruins game, everyone except Tomáš Nosek has recorded at least one point. Twelve have recorded a goal, and Nick Foligno's three goals already surpass last season's total.

I've long thought this team's performance can be measured in Jake DeBrusk's vibes per 60. If DeBrusk looks like he's having a good time, you can bet the team is in a good place, and this kid seems like he's having the time of his life these days.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark is also having a strong start with a 5-0-0 record and a .936 save percentage.

4. The Flyers

This is where the connections end unless we really want to stretch it and tie Foligno's hot start to his former coach and current Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella.

Say what you will about Torts and his no-nonsense approach, and it definitely doesn't work for everyone, but at least for now it's seeming to jibe with the Philly market and apparently with what was supposed to be a bottom-five team in the league. The Flyers are a team that needed Torts if there ever was one. They started out the season undefeated through three games and currently sit at 4-2-0. I do think the team will trend down sooner rather than later, the offense is already severely lacking at times, and it doesn't help that James van Riemsdyk is going to be out for at least one month after finger surgery.

But what's the point in saying all this when we weren't even expecting a hot start to begin with out of this team? Enjoy it while it lasts.

5. The Retro Reverse Jerseys

The NHL released its latest set of alternate jerseys via Adidas last week, and it might be my favorite batch of jerseys the league has ever put together. Between the Panthers' ode to Florida, the Bruins' ode to the Pooh Bear and the Tampa Bay Lightning's ode to a throwback so bad that it's good, I was thoroughly impressed. I loved that teams were branching out and giving the people what they actually want. More fun, please!

After negotiations were relatively quiet all summer, it appears David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins are making progress on a new deal for the superstar winger with training camp well under way.

Contract discussions between the Bruins and Pastrnak are "heating up," TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Thursday's edition of Insider Trading.

Dreger added that "both sides are assessing the market right now" and that Pastrnak is "clearly hopeful" that something will get done sooner rather than later.

The news comes after NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently told Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts Podcast (h/t BosHockeyNow's Jimmy Murphy) that Pastrnak's camp was open to contract negotiations during the season.

There had been speculation over the summer that the Bruins could trade Pastrnak, but he essentially put those rumors to rest, telling reporters earlier this month that he would love to sign an extension with the Bruins:

"This city is where I got the chance to become the player I am, to become the human being I am. Boston, the organization is an unbelievable part of it. I came here as a kid and now I’m a man. I’m extremely happy. A lot of great memories. I’ve said many times I love it here and it’s an honor to wear this jersey.”

The Bruins selected Pastrnak 25th overall in the 2014 NHL draft, and he's considered one of the biggest steals of that draft class. He signed a six-year, $40 million deal with the Bruins in September 2017, and his deal is expected to expire after the 2022-23 campaign.

With the way the NHL market is trending, Pastrnak will become one of Boston's highest-paid players if he inks a new deal with the franchise, joining star defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who agreed to an eight-year, $76 million deal with the franchise in October 2021.

Since making his NHL debut during the 2014-15 season, Pastrnak has tallied 240 goals and 264 assists for 504 points in 510 games. His best season came during the 2019-20 campaign, when he scored a career-high 48 goals to capture the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer. He also notched 47 assists.

In addition, the 26-year-old has found tremendous success in the postseason despite not yet capturing a Stanley Cup, tallying 30 goals and 44 assists for 74 points in 70 games.

Pastrnak enters the 2022-23 season with high expectations after he tallied 40 goals and 37 assists for 77 points in 72 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

He's expected to be one of Boston's top scorers again alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, though with the return of David Krejci, he could play alongside his fellow countryman and Taylor Hall to begin the season.

The Bruins open the season on Oct. 12 against the Washington Capitals.