It's still unclear what "new information" led Bruins to change course with Mitchell Miller

BOSTON -- When the Bruins announced on Sunday night that the team will "part ways" with Mitchell Miller, two words stuck out the most: "new information."

"Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins," the statement from team president Cam Neely said.

So naturally, when Neely stepped before the media on Monday morning, the first question he faced was what the "new information" was that led to the team dropping a player that was signed for all of two days.

"Well the fact that we didn't talk to the family [of the victim] was concerning to me," Neely answered.

Neely was then asked why the team did not speak to the family of the victim of Miller's bullying.

"That's a great question," Neely said. "That's something I need to find out."

The indication from Neely, then, is that the fact that the Bruins did not reach out to the family of Isaiah Meyer-Crothers was "new information." At least, that's how he answered the question about "new information."

Yet on Friday, not long after the Bruins announced the signing of Miller, general manager Don Sweeney stated rather clearly that the team made no effort to contact the Meyer-Crothers family.

"I have not spoken to the young man," Sweeney said when asked if he had reached out to the Meyer-Crothers family. "I was certainly part of Mitchell having contact with the young man. But we have not had direct communication with the family themselves."

In fact, the team did not seem to have much curiosity regarding how the Meyer-Crothers family felt about the recent contact made by Mitchell -- contact which was mandated by the Bruins in order to go through with the signing.

"I have not asked for the personal feelings of how those conversations went," Sweeney said regarding Miller's recent contact with Meyer-Crothers. "I was understanding that they've taken place and that we are incredibly respectful of what this young man was put through. We felt it was imperative that Mitchell spoke to him prior to even considering moving forward."

Further, Sweeney expressed that the team actively made a decision to not contact the family.

"I don't feel that it was necessary at this point in time to hear both sides of the story," Sweeney said. "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."

There was no room for doubt or confusion as to whether or not the Bruins spoke to the Meyer-Crothers family or attempted to do so or even wanted to do so. Sweeney was direct in saying that such communication did not happen.

Yet on Monday, Neely's biggest issue with the process was that the team did not reach out to the family.

"As I said and I'll say it again, I want to apologize to Isaiah and his family," Neely stated. "It's something that they shouldn't continue to go through."

Neely was asked directly if he had assumed that the Bruins had contacted the family.

"And I shouldn't assume anything," Neely answered.

Neely was asked directly if there was an assumption of contact.

"I made it clear that we have to vet this out properly. When it first came to my attention in August, I said we have to vet this out properly," Neely said. "You know, this is something that's a massive decision for the organization to make."

That it was, as the weekend of backlash showed.

Yet throughout that weekend, it was always clear that the Bruins did not try to speak to the family of the victim. Neely didn't definitively state that the lack of communication with the family was the "new information" that led to the organization's decision to cut ties with Mitchell, but it was what he referred to when asked what had changed.

There was, of course, one major development over the weekend, and that came from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. In a press conference in Finland, Bettman said that the Bruins had not asked the league about signing Mitchell and that the 20-year-old is currently not eligible to play in the league and might never be allowed to play in the league, based on his past behavior. 

Neely, though, pushed back a bit on that, saying that Sweeney had contacted deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who explained that Miller would eventually need to have a meeting with Bettman before being allowed to play in the NHL.

"From what I gather, [Daly] said that Mitchell would have to get in front of Gary Bettman if he was going to play in the National Hockey League," Neely relayed.

That, then, would not represent a new development either, as it matched Bettman's words from Saturday.

Obviously, the Bruins' decision to make this move in the first place was a bit baffling. The front office changing its mind a little over 48 hours later showed that the signing hadn't been thought through properly.

Yet even after Neely's press conference -- really, especially after Neely's press conference -- it's anyone's guess what the "new information" was that led the Bruins to change course.