Devils Gain Defensive Depth With Colin Miller

Miller will likely slot into a third-pairing role and could be used on the penalty kill for New Jersey. For a fifth-round pick in 2025, this is an excellent addition that will fill a need for the Devils going into 2023-24.

Veteran Experience

Miller will begin his ninth season in the NHL with the Devils. He previously played for the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, and Stars. Furthermore, he played in 40 career playoff games and went to the Stanley Cup Final with the Golden Knights in the 2017-18 season. With the Golden Knights, Miller had his highest-scoring season with 10 goals and 31 assists. He also spent time on the power play and scored five goals and 12 assists.

Miller was teammates with Erik Haula on the Golden Knights where they lost in the Stanley Cup Final. In Dallas, he played with Ryan Suter and the pair allowed only 0.3 expected goals against, third-best on the team.

The added experience will be helpful to have for young defensemen who will need to learn the pace and physicality of the league. The Devils lost a combined 949 games of experience in Severson and Graves. The addition of Miller will allow for the defense to have a veteran presence that will bring experience and wisdom to the youth.

Potential Defensive Lines

The addition of Miller allows the Devils to relieve the pressure on Hughes, Bahl, and Nemec. Relying on three young defenders for 82 games and a potential playoff run could backfire on the team. They also have Brendan Smith signed for another year at $1.1 million. Smith played 60 games for New Jersey in the regular season and three games in the playoffs.

Click to read all of The Hockey Writers’ 2023 NHL Free Agency coverage

Including the new addition of Miller and Bahl, who was tendered a qualifying offer, the potential defensive pairings could be similar to this:

Pairing 1: Siegenthaler – Hamilton

Pairing 2: Hughes – Marino

Pairing 3: Bahl – Miller

Extra defenseman: Nemec and Smith

The Devils have options with their pairings and where extra defensemen can slot in. Lindy Ruff has also been keen on running with seven defensemen for some games during the season. Unfortunately, injuries are inevitable in the league and New Jersey will now have depth with Miller. Lastly, the addition will allow for the team to have an excellent balance of right-handed and left-handed defensemen.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald will likely be done adding to his defensive depth after this trade. Now, all eyes will be on training camp to see if Nemec will make the opening night roster in October.