I'll follow on with cshea and veritas in playing devil's advocate. It speaks more to the state of the Bruins D than his actual ability level, but statistically Miller was one of their top 3 D. There is a fair chance that next season he is their best d-zone defenseman if Zdeno continues his slide (again speaks to the state of the D).
Here are the Bruins D ranked by Corsi (5X5)
Name / Games /Age / AAV / CF%Rel / CF%
Colin.Miller / 42 / 22 / 0.603 / 2.81 / 52.23 - RFA
John-Michael.Liles / 81 / 34 / 3.875 / -1.33 / 51.78 (include Carolina stats) - UFA
Torey.Krug / 81 / 24 / 3.4 / 2.74 / 51.21 - RFA
Kevan.Miller / 71 / 27 / $ 0.80 / 0.33 / 49.78 - UFA
Zdeno.Chara /80 / 38 / 6.917 / -0.16 / 49.54
Adam.McQuaid / 64 / 28 / 2.75 / -1.51 / 48.84
Tommy.Cross / 3 /26 / 0.6 / -2.99 / 48.33 - RFA
Zach.Trotman / 38 / 25 / 0.625 / -0.59 / 48.19 - RFA
Joe.Morrow / 33 / 22 / 0.863 / -2.19 / 47.27 - RFA
Dennis.Seidenberg / 61 / 34 / 4 / -2.81 / 47.09
Matt.Irwin / 2 / 27 / 0.8 / -1.07 / 44.9
The options for signing 3 guys from the outside that are either much better players or almost as good but cheaper aren't great. A quick look at UFA guys in their late 20's comes up with:
Name / Team / Games / Age / AAV / CF%Rel / CF%
Jakub.Kindl / DET / 25 / 28 / 2.4 / 6.39 / 55.22
Korbinian.Holzer / ANA / 30 / 27 / 0.75 / -0.08 / 50.63
Kris.Russell / DAL / 23 / 28 / 2.6 / -4.28 / 49.8
Kevan.Miller / BOS / 71 / 27 / 0.8 / 0.33 / 49.78
Eric.Gryba / EDM / 53 / 27 / 1.25 / 1.08 / 49.44
Roman.Polak / T-SJ / 97 / 29 / 2.75 / -3.65 / 48.88
Jordie.Benn / DAL / 65 / 28 / 0.7 / -4.82 / 48.81
Yannick.Weber / VAN / 45 / 26 / 1.5 / 0.95 / 48.31
Brian.Strait / NYI / 52 / 27 / 0.775 / -4.26 / 47.14
Matt.Bartkowski / VAN / 80 / 27 / 1.75 / -1.78 / 45.8
Michael.Kostka / OTT / 15 / 29 / 0.8 / -4.27 / 44.06
Kindl is the most intriguing guy on the list. He ran the shuttle in Detroit before getting some time in Florida after the trade. The rest are really not much on potential upgrades. Some of those guys are going to get paid just based on the lack of competition and the comparable contracts CShea put up.
I'll say it again that I wouldn't have done a 4 year deal at that rate, but rationally looking at it there is some justification.
Here are the Bruins D ranked by Corsi (5X5)
Name / Games /Age / AAV / CF%Rel / CF%
Colin.Miller / 42 / 22 / 0.603 / 2.81 / 52.23 - RFA
John-Michael.Liles / 81 / 34 / 3.875 / -1.33 / 51.78 (include Carolina stats) - UFA
Torey.Krug / 81 / 24 / 3.4 / 2.74 / 51.21 - RFA
Kevan.Miller / 71 / 27 / $ 0.80 / 0.33 / 49.78 - UFA
Zdeno.Chara /80 / 38 / 6.917 / -0.16 / 49.54
Adam.McQuaid / 64 / 28 / 2.75 / -1.51 / 48.84
Tommy.Cross / 3 /26 / 0.6 / -2.99 / 48.33 - RFA
Zach.Trotman / 38 / 25 / 0.625 / -0.59 / 48.19 - RFA
Joe.Morrow / 33 / 22 / 0.863 / -2.19 / 47.27 - RFA
Dennis.Seidenberg / 61 / 34 / 4 / -2.81 / 47.09
Matt.Irwin / 2 / 27 / 0.8 / -1.07 / 44.9
The options for signing 3 guys from the outside that are either much better players or almost as good but cheaper aren't great. A quick look at UFA guys in their late 20's comes up with:
Name / Team / Games / Age / AAV / CF%Rel / CF%
Jakub.Kindl / DET / 25 / 28 / 2.4 / 6.39 / 55.22
Korbinian.Holzer / ANA / 30 / 27 / 0.75 / -0.08 / 50.63
Kris.Russell / DAL / 23 / 28 / 2.6 / -4.28 / 49.8
Kevan.Miller / BOS / 71 / 27 / 0.8 / 0.33 / 49.78
Eric.Gryba / EDM / 53 / 27 / 1.25 / 1.08 / 49.44
Roman.Polak / T-SJ / 97 / 29 / 2.75 / -3.65 / 48.88
Jordie.Benn / DAL / 65 / 28 / 0.7 / -4.82 / 48.81
Yannick.Weber / VAN / 45 / 26 / 1.5 / 0.95 / 48.31
Brian.Strait / NYI / 52 / 27 / 0.775 / -4.26 / 47.14
Matt.Bartkowski / VAN / 80 / 27 / 1.75 / -1.78 / 45.8
Michael.Kostka / OTT / 15 / 29 / 0.8 / -4.27 / 44.06
Kindl is the most intriguing guy on the list. He ran the shuttle in Detroit before getting some time in Florida after the trade. The rest are really not much on potential upgrades. Some of those guys are going to get paid just based on the lack of competition and the comparable contracts CShea put up.
I'll say it again that I wouldn't have done a 4 year deal at that rate, but rationally looking at it there is some justification.