The veteran defenseman is set to begin his ninth season in the NHL.
Colin Miller was at a wedding when he received news from the Dallas Stars that he was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Initially, he was surprised but understands that these situations tend to happen when one least expects it.
The veteran defenseman has appeared in 466 NHL games over his eight-season career. For most of those games, he was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights but also played for the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Stars.
Many were unfamiliar with the fifth-round draft pick from 2012 when general manager Tom Fitzgerald acquired him on July 1. Jim Nill, the general manager for the Dallas Stars, shed some light on his reasoning for moving the Sault Ste. Marie native.
"To make a lot of this work (signing free agents Matt Duchene, Craig Smith, and Sam Steel), unfortunately, we had to trade Colin Miller," he said. "That was tough, but it's part of the business, and it created enough cap room to allow us to (sign these players)."
From an outside perspective, Miller, whose contract expires after the season, will serve as a stopgap. He is an ideal replacement for Damon Severson and allows the Devils to continue to be patient with Simon Nemec's development.
When asked by Devils media what fans can expect from him this season, Miller spoke about what he can bring to the blue line.
"As my career's gone on here, I've definitely become more of a well-rounded defenseman," he said. "Somebody who can play in a lot of different scenarios. (I'm) just looking to help this team in any way I can."
Most projections have him playing on the third pair as a fifth or sixth defenseman. Jonas Siegenthaler, Dougie Hamilton, John Marino, and Luke Hughes are expected to make up the team's top four when healthy. That would leave a rotation of Miller, Brendan Smith, and Kevin Bahl for the third pair.
Of course, for a team to reach the Stanley Cup Final, it will take more than six defensemen.
"In the NHL, I don't even think it's six defensemen anymore. I think it's closer to like seven, maybe eight," explained Smith. "Why I say that is because there's injuries, and there's always going to be injuries. We had them a lot last year where we had a lot of guys that filled in."
The Golden Knights and Florida Panthers utilized nine defensemen, as did the Devils, to Smith's credit.
A veteran with experience playing in all situations will be a vital asset to the coaching staff.
L. Hughes is a rookie, and as talented as he is, he will go through the ups and downs that every young defenseman experiences early in their career. Bahl took noticeable steps in his development but will be taking on more responsibility this season with the departure of Ryan Graves. Like anything else, there will be an adjustment period and learning curve for these young blueliners. For those reasons, it was important for the Devils' front office to round out their defense after the loss of Graves and Severson.
When Miller was asked what he hopes to bring to the lineup this season, his answer was short but precisely what the team needs.
"Just stability. I think there's such a good core of defensemen here. I think as a unit, we can be really good, so I'm just gonna help out wherever I can."
Miller has appeared in two of New Jersey's three preseason games and has averaged 18 minutes of ice time. He was credited with three shots and one hit. When doing his job, he's a defenseman who might not be noticed on the ice, which is exactly what one wants from an effective depth defenseman.