Rival executive comments on Bruins' Mitchell Miller fiasco

BOSTON -- As soon as the Bruins announced the signing of Mitchell Miller, the reaction from Boston fans was impossible to miss. So much so, in fact, that the team announced just two days later that it was "parting ways" with the controversial prospect.

Around the league, front offices obviously took notice of the fiasco. And one fellow executive was taken aback by the way the situation played out in Boston.

"One of the biggest unforced errors I've seen in my two decades working in this sport," an NHL executive texted ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

That perspective certainly adds to the confusion of why, exactly, GM Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely made the move in the first place. The team's decision to change course after two days shows either that the team underestimated the public response or did not due proper due diligence on the player -- or, possibly, both.

Elsewhere in Mitchell Miller news, he has not been released yet, despite the team's statement on Sunday night and Neely's press conference on Monday morning. ESPN's Greg Wyshynski noted that the Bruins must be weighing their three options. 

One option would be to keep Miller on the books for this season and pay him one-third of his NHL salary in a buyout. Another would be to agree with the player and his agent on a settlement, which would make Miller a free agent again. A third would be the termination of Miller's contract, a move which would likely trigger a grievance filed on Miller's behalf by the NHL.

That situation helps explain why the Bruins have not yet officially removed Miller from their system as of yet.