The Dallas Stars have several big chores, and a single king-sized one, to accomplish during the 2022-23 offseason. They’ve made progress of a sort on that last to-do item by signing right-handed defenseman Colin Miller to a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old blueliner, most recently of the Buffalo Sabres, is pegged as a puck-moving defenseman but comes with a troubling injury history (he missed six weeks early this year after surgery for an upper-body issue). Like many Stars, he also struggled with COVID-19 last season.
His player report card from our sister site, Die By The Blade, sketches a profile of a serviceable player with a decidedly lackluster recent history:
Miller was the second-oldest defenseman on the Sabres this season, behind only the 30-year-old Mark Pysyk. Buffalo has an incredibly young core of defense, but between the injury and a high-ish price tag for low performance, it’s honestly hard to find any true ‘highlights’ of this past season for him.
And his fancy stats are…not that fancy:
Colin Miller (2×1.85m with Dallas) is an offensive liability, both at 5v5 and 5v4. Defensively average. pic.twitter.com/2vAy27xSop
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) July 13, 2022
Of course, this may mean that GM Jim Nill is expecting a bounce-back year for him – or possibly an opportunity to put Miro Heiskanen back on his natural side…? Miller may not fill the John Klingberg-sized hole on the Stars’ back end, but if he’s a good enough role-player, he may not have to.
“Colin is a puck-moving defenseman that will add experience and a right shot to our defensive core,” Nill said. “We are excited to have him under contract with our organization for the next two years.”
Here are more details from the official release, courtesy of the Stars website:
Miller, 29, skated in 38 regular-season games during the 2021-22 campaign with the Buffalo Sabres and earned 14 points (2-12=14). Among team blueliners, he ranked second in power play time on ice per game (1:27), while also ranking third in points (14) and assists (12)….
The seven-year NHL veteran has appeared in 387 career regular-season NHL games with Buffalo, Vegas and Boston, amassing 136 points (29-107=136). After being selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Boston, the blueliner posted career highs in goals, assists and points (10-31=41) in 82 regular-season games during the 2017-18 season. Miller has also skated in 30 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with Boston and Vegas and has registered 11 points (4-7=11) and 18:33 time on ice.
On the international stage, Miller served as an alternate captain for Team Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. He posted one assist (0-1=1) in four games en route to a gold medal.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was originally selected by Los Angeles in the fifth round (151st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft.