BOSTON — It’s not the $24.6 million that’s going to change Brandon Carlo.
It’s the six years.
The Boston Bruins’ defenseman said he’s not going to rush out and buy anything flashy after signing a new contract extension. But having a long-term commitment from the team was “a huge compliment,” and he wants to use the newfound job security to sharpen his leadership skills.
“There’s a lot more room for that going forward. I think this contract kind of reflects on that,” Carlo told reporters Wednesday after the deal was announced. “It’s always something that I feel like I kind of had a little bit within me, the leadership component. I just want to continue to grow in that regard.”
Carlo, 24, had three goals and one assist and averaged 18:43 in ice time this season, his fifth in Boston. But he missed most of March with an oblique muscle injury and then left Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs after a hit from Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck that sent his head crashing into the glass.
“I’ve been feeling great, completely back to normal, 100% for well over a month and a half now,” he said on a teleconference. “My recovery was pretty quick. … That hasn’t thrown me off in any way.”
The hit left Carlo unable to get back on his feet. He said he knows that concussions need to be taken seriously, but it won’t affect how he plays.
“With the way that I recovered from my concussions and through the injury process, I never felt, in any way, shape, or form, that my career was going to be ending any time soon,” he said. “I’m still a young guy, I still feel very sharp in my mind. I feel great in my body.”
A second-round draft pick in 2015, the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Colorado averaged 74 games in his first four seasons before playing in just 27 in 2021.
“Brandon is a player who has grown into a foundational defenseman with our team while also emerging as an important leader on and off the ice,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney said.
Carlo said he had nothing special planned for his new riches except for perhaps a haircut. He is taking some time away from hockey but will be skating again next week.
“I fully anticipate that’s all going to go very well,” he said. “I like to just get away from the game for a little bit, but I’m excited to get back on the ice next week and fully expect to be feeling great.”
• Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller, who has played in just 28 games since breaking his kneecap in 2019, announced his retirement in an Instagram post that he signed “Forever a Bruin.”
“Although my spirit for the game is there, unfortunately my body isn’t,” he wrote. “My overall health and my family are now the priority. This was not an easy decision to make but it’s time to hang up my skates.”
Miller, 33, played in 352 games over eight seasons with the Bruins, scoring 13 goals with 58 assists. After going undrafted out of Vermont, he signed with Providence of the AHL in 2010, earned a promotion to Boston in 2013 and was in the regular defensive rotation by 2015.
He was injured in April 2019, and was rehabbing the knee during the Eastern Conference finals when he broke it again. He missed all of the 2019-20 season.
“It’s hard to put into words what it means to wear the spoked ‘B,'” he wrote. “It was an honor to put on that jersey on each night.”
SABRES: Forward Jeff Skinner agreed to waive his no-movement clause, freeing the team from having to protect him during the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft next week.
Skinner’s agent, Don Meehan, confirmed his client’s decision in an email to The Associated Press. The Athletic first reported the player’s decision.
The Sabres initiated the move, knowing it’s unlikely Skinner will be selected by the Kraken given the under-performing winger has six years left on an eight-year, $72 million contract.
What the move does is allow Buffalo to keep an additional forward or defenseman upon submitting its protected list of players on Saturday.
All players with no-movement clauses are required to be protected. Teams have the option to submit a protected list of either eight skaters and a goalie, or seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie in advance of the draft on July 21.
The Sabres are focusing on developing with youth after finishing last in the NHL standings for the fourth time in eight seasons and extending their playoff drought to an NHL record-matching 10th season. Buffalo could use Skinner’s spot to protect a young forward such as Rasmus Asplund, or a defenseman such as Henri Jokiharju or Will Borgen, who would otherwise be exposed.
Skinner’s value has dropped dramatically since signing his contract in June 2019 following one season in Buffalo in which he scored a career-best 40 goals and added 23 assists in 82 games.
The 29-year-old has since combined for 21 goals and 16 assists in 112 games over the past two seasons. Skinner particularly struggled finding a regular role under Coach Ralph Krueger, who was fired in March and replaced by Don Granato.
Krueger cited accountability and team culture for benching Skinner for three games in February.
Skinner is a four-time 30-goal-scorer, who spent his first eight NHL seasons in Carolina before being traded to the Sabres in August 2018.
PENGUINS: Teddy Blueger signed a two-year contract with the Penguins with an average salary of $2.2 million.
Blueger, who worked on Pittsburgh’s fourth line, tied a career high with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 43 games.
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