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The Bruins officially parted ways with Mitchell Miller on Sunday. The ramifications of the ill-fated signing continue. Team president Cam Neely said he will look into all angles of the matter this week.

Here are some of the big questions that remain:

1. Did Neely call the family of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers?

Neely made it clear that not contacting the family was the organization’s most significant blunder. On Tuesday afternoon, Neely and Joni Meyer-Crothers spoke after missing each other the previous day. According to Meyer-Crothers, their conversation lasted approximately 45 minutes.

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“He profusely apologized for causing more unnecessary pain to Isaiah,” Meyer-Crothers wrote in a text. “He asked if there was anything they could do. He understands Isaiah’s current state and offered to help us find good counseling for Isaiah to start the healing process.”

When asked if she was satisfied with the call, Meyer-Crothers made her approval known: “Yes, absolutely.”

'We failed there': From players to fans to the victim's family, the Bruins made a lot of people angry.

There may be consequences. https://t.co/x1ZktP05R0

— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) November 7, 2022

2. Will anybody be punished in the organization?

On Monday, Neely was asked if discipline would be pending.

“Something I have to deal with today and this week and see where it takes me,” the president said.

On Friday, general manager Don Sweeney issued his reasoning of why nobody contacted the family before the signing.

“I think the sides of the story have been fairly well-documented,” Sweeney said. “Went through a court process. Mitchell has gone through some of the demands of the court as a result of that and what he has done since then to try and start his own rehabilitation and growth process. I think we have an understanding of the dynamic of the group that they were part of. I’d be fine if having a conversation with Isaiah subsequently to hear exactly how we feel. We don’t feel there’s necessarily forgiveness involved in this. We feel it’s an opportunity for a young man to have a career despite a very misguided and immature decision back when he was in the eighth grade. So I don’t feel it was necessary at this point in time to hear both sides of the story. Albeit, I think we take Isaiah’s side that this event happened and the culpability lies 100 percent with Mitchell, and he needs to live with that and work the rest of his life to have a better understanding of what it means to respect people. And live it.”

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Whether Sweeney’s explanation will satisfy Neely remains to be seen. Whether Sweeney will face discipline is unknown. Senior adviser to the GM Scott Bradley, assistant GM and director of legal affairs Evan Gold and assistant GM Jamie Langenbrunner are directly below Sweeney on the organizational masthead.

Because Miller was most recently in the USHL, the team’s amateur scouts would have been most familiar with his play. Ryan Nadeau is the director of amateur scouting. Darren Yopyk is the assistant director of amateur scouting. Parker MacKay, Jeff Barratt and Doug Leaverton are U.S. amateur scouts.

“From a hockey standpoint, the scouts think he’s a player that can play,” Neely said. “From a character standpoint, that’s where we failed.”

3. What happens with Miller’s entry-level contract?

Miller remains under contract with the Bruins. The contract was filed with the league Friday. The NHL registered it Saturday.

An NHLPA spokesperson said the union is actively reviewing the matter. Neely declined to answer how the Bruins would proceed with the deal. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly referred the matter to the Bruins.

“In this case, there was nothing that happened post ‘sign the contract,'” Miller’s agent, Eustace King, said on The Cam & Strick Podcast on Monday. “That’s when you usually trigger some form of termination. I’d have to spend more time on this. But specifically in this case, everyone knew what was at stake. Everyone knew the risks they were taking. Everyone knew everything. Nothing has come up or resurfaced that’s been different from everything you’ve seen before. That’s why I put the timeline in there. Because I have not been able to find any new information or new accounts that have happened.”

In the team’s news release explaining its parting with Miller, Neely said it was based on new information. On Monday, Neely was asked what the new information was.

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“The fact we didn’t talk to the family was concerning to me,” Neely answered.

The Bruins could put Miller on waivers for the purpose of terminating the contract. Given his radioactivity, Miller would clear waivers.

The NHLPA, then, would most likely file a grievance because of a lack of cause for termination. Neely publicly acknowledged there was no new information, which would hurt the Bruins’ case for termination.

It’s also possible the Bruins and Miller, via the NHLPA, could negotiate a settlement.

Another option is buying out the final two years of Miller’s contract at the end of 2022-23. Because Miller is under 26 years old, the cost would be one-third of the remaining sum. Per CapFriendly, the Bruins would carry a $215,834 hit in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and $129,167 in 2025-26 and 2026-27.

The Bruins signed Mitchell Miller Friday. They released him Sunday.

And in the process, they embarrassed themselves again, writes @seangentille:https://t.co/xMqypaedIK pic.twitter.com/Vs42N2W26Z

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 7, 2022

4. Why did the Bruins sign Miller?

The right-shot defenseman scored 39 goals and 44 assists in 60 games for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm in 2021-22. The 20-year-old Miller projects to be an offensive defenseman with NHL potential, perhaps as a second-unit presence on the power play. The Bruins are short on prospects.

“Had a tremendous offensive season last year in the USHL as an older player in that league,” said Sweeney after the signing. “His production offensively, the power play, his ability to generate up the ice, shoot the puck and be part of the offense gives him an opportunity and a chance as a professional. We’re going to work with him on the defending part of the game. He was a transitioned forward that moved back to defense. We’re going to teach him to understand how to play defense and use his offensive attributes and hockey acumen. I think he has a chance to be an NHL player. He has attributes that certainly translate to the new style of game. We’re going to work with him on the other things as well as all the things I referenced off the ice that with each and every one of our players we expect and demand.”

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There was an off-ice component, as well. The Bruins wanted to give Miller a second chance, thinking they could lean on their leadership group to help Miller grow. Miller would have opportunities to share his experience in community work.

“What I wanted to do is make sure that Mitchell had a plan in place so he could try and help others,” King said. “Because that’s what I was really in it for. Now we had someone who offended. They made a bad judgment call, a terrible one. I don’t want to say bad. Real bad. And now he could come in because he’s on that side. And he could say: ‘Hey, this is what I did. This is terrible. I totally changed the outcome of someone’s life in Isaiah based on what I did. This is wrong. Now I want to be a change agent. I want to do it.'”

On Monday morning, following a request for comment, King said he would call The Athletic in the afternoon. He did not.

On Tuesday afternoon, King was again invited to comment at any time. He did not answer the inquiry.

5. Why did commissioner Gary Bettman say the Bruins didn’t consult the NHL prior to the signing?

Perhaps the league, like the Bruins, underestimated the severity of the backlash. Neely emphasized that on Nov. 2, Sweeney informed Daly that the Bruins were going to sign Miller. The league registered Miller’s contract. Three days later, Bettman made his statement during the Global Series in Finland.

“After they did the wrong thing in signing Miller, the Bruins did the right thing in voiding his contract, but only after crushing pressure from the public and even disapproval from players in the Boston organization,” the Hockey Diversity Alliance wrote in a statement released Tuesday. “NHL leadership also deemed Miller unwelcome, but only after its contract office had approved his contract, a finger-in-the-wind sequence, a late case of conscience.”

Our statement regarding the Boston Bruins' signing and release of Mitchell Miller. pic.twitter.com/qW862FOtdK

— Hockey Diversity Alliance (@TheOfficialHDA) November 8, 2022

6. Were the Bruins competing with other teams for Miller?

According to King, Miller had a choice.

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“The interaction, as you can imagine, started off as like this young man sitting in front of people and saying, ‘Hey, let’s talk about what you did,'” King said on the podcast. “There were some real strong conversations. But as the conversations unfolded and over time, everyone started getting an understanding from what the timeline was, and then also from what they have read in the past, that this young man … and I believe that they believe in giving second chances. I believe the Bruins wanted to give him a second chance. That was their intention. But they also wanted to make sure he did the work. And so somewhere between there, I don’t know what happened. But when we walked out of that office, there was a handshake and a look saying, ‘Hey, we hope you choose us.'”

(Photo of Don Sweeney: Jen Fuller / Getty Images)

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