Detroit Redwings Re-sign Drew Miller
The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Drew Miller to a one year contract on Tuesday. The contract is for $650,000, which puts the Wings’ salary commitment for the 2010-11 season at roughly $54.9 million.
Miller began last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 26 year-old player also played parts of three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks before being traded to Tampa Bay prior to the 2009-10 season.
In 2009, the Red Wings signed Miller and with that team he earned a career-high of 66 games. During last year’s season with the same team, Miller established career-highs in goals (10), assists (9) and points (19). The New Jersey native has also collected 16 goals and 34 points over parts of three seasons with Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Detroit.
Before being selected by the Ducks in the sixth round of the 2003 NHL draft, Miller also played with Michigan State University for three seasons from 2003-2006. In 2005-06, he was named Michigan State’s Most Valuable Player and was selected as the CCHA’s best defensive forward.
In 2007, Miller made his NHL debut with the Ducks, playing in the final game of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Minnesota Wild. Miller would spend two seasons in the Ducks organization before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2009 for Russian winger Evgeni Artyukhin.
In 2009, Miller was claimed by the Detroit Red Wings and he made his debut against the Vancouver Canucks with just under 12 minutes of ice time. Originally, Miller was temporarily brought into Detroit to replace injured players, but he managed to outplay other members of the team and has since been filling in for a variety of positions.
No one expected the young player to play a major role on the team when the Red Wings signed him last year as an insurance policy. Then as fate would have it, Detroit players started getting injured and Miller had to step up to the plate. Miller's efforts resulted in him earning a one-year contract to stay in Detroit.
Miller's offensive breakthrough was only an added bonus to his play last year. The Detroit Red Wings forward has also played a key role in the penalty kill as well as playing solidly in the defensive zone. Miller's return to Detroit will give the team a reliable defensive forward on the third or fourth line.
It has also been reported that the team is close to reaching deals with Patrick Eaves and Derek Meech, which would only leave Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm as the Wings' remaining free agents. Mike Modano, who is also being sought by Detroit, may be the last player they'll have room to sign on to the team.
“I’ve talked a lot with them the last two, three days and feel we’re pretty close,’’ Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. It has also been reported that Abdelkader and Helm will likely be re-signed later this summer, possibly to long-term deals. Furthermore, it has been reported that Holland has yet to hear back from Andreas Lilja or Kirk Maltby as to whether or not they’ll be joining the team.
Miller is the tenth member of his family to play the sport for Michigan State and comes from a long family line of hockey players. He has an older brother Ryan Miller, who is the Buffalo Sabres goaltender and who also played with the Red Wings from 1990-91 to 1991-92 and again in 2003-04. Drew Miller is also the cousin of former NHLers Kip, Kevin and Kelly Miller.
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