Mike Milbury

At 71 years old, Mike Milbury has this physical status:

Michael Milbury (born June 17, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player now working as an analyst for the NHL on NBC.

He appeared in the National Hockey League for twelve seasons (NHL), three of whom were with the Boston Bruins.

He later served as assistant general manager under Harry Sinden and Boston's head coach, as well as general manager and head coach for the New York Islanders.

Personal life

Milbury was charged on three counts stemming from an incident that occurred on December 9, 2011, when he was coaching a Pee-Wee hockey game, he was charged with assault and battery on a child, threats to commit a felony, and disorderly conduct. He was never arrested. Milbury, an assistant coach for the Boch Blazers Pee Wee hockey team, was involved in a tee fight on the ice during the match between his own son and a 12-year-old boy from the opposing team, according to The Boston Herald. Milbury reportedly "charged out onto the rink and verbally blasted, grabbed, and shook the 12-year-old opposition player." Milbury's behavior were "horrible," according to the boy's mother, who accused Milbury of grabbing and shaking his son and then lifting him above the ice for thirty seconds. Milbury, a lawyer, denied any charges. Milbury's behavior was condemned by the team's owner, who said Milbury "did everything right [he] didn't touch any child inappropriately." While he dealt with the crisis, NBC and Milbury reached an understanding to keep Milbury off the air.

Milbury appeared in late December, 2011 before a clerk magistrate in Brookline District Court to hear the charges. The magistrate found that there were no reasons to back up any of the three charges, which were all dropped, after a closed-door hearing that lasted several hours. Milbury expressed appreciation for the court's findings and stated that he treated himself as a "supervisor" of the ice (and said the referee had already left the rink), and that if the situation arose again, he would do the same thing.

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Playing career

Milbury, a three-year letterman at Colgate University from 1972 to 1974, was a letterman who served in the Naval Union from 1972 to 1974. He was the team's co-leader in assists with 19 in his junior year, and he wore uniform number 7 in his junior year. With 30 points (4 goals, 26 assists), he had his best season with the Red Raiders in his career (first season). With 68 in 1973 and 85 in 1974, he was also in penalty minutes in both campaigns. He had 6 goals, 55 assists, 61 points, and 203 penalty minutes in 76 games.

Milbury appeared in five games with the Boston Braves, the Bruins' top farm team, right after the end of his college hockey career. He signed with the Bruins as a free agent on November 5, 1974, and the team's new American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, spent the next two seasons with the Rochester Americans. With 246 in 1975 and 199 in 1976, he was the club's highest penalty minutes in both seasons, finishing fourth and third respectively in the AHL.

Milbury was promoted to the Bruins in the 1975–76 season, appearing in eleven of twelve Stanley Cup playoff games. He was a member of the United States team at the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup, scoring a goal and three assists in five games prior to his follow-up NHL campaign.

Stan Jonathan's ardent style of play in his first three years with the Bruins was a perfect match for his struggling team coached by Don Cherry and featuring similar tough players such as Terry O'Reilly, John Wensink, and Stan Jonathan. Milbury helped his team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1977 and 1978, with Boston losing both games to the Montreal Canadiens in four and six games respectively.

He appeared in the playoffs ten times in his twelve years as a defenseman for the Bruins. More than 200 penalty minutes have been earned in 1981 (222) and 1983 (216), as well as 100 six other times. He also served as the club's representative with the NHL Players' Union and was outspoken on several controversial topics, including the role of Alan Eagleson.

Milbury gained notoriety because of a 4–3 Bruins victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 23, 1979. During an on-ice brawl between the players from both teams, a Rangers fan cut Stan Jonathan's face with a rolled-up system and grabbed his hockey stick. Terry O'Reilly scaled over the Plexiglas and charged into the stands in the hunt for the perpetrator, followed by Peter McNab and other colleagues. Milbury, who had only been in the visitors' locker room when his colleagues marched back to join their colleagues in the brawl. He caught the unruly spectator, took off one of his shoes, and slapped him hard on the sole side before being restrained. President John Ziegler suspended O'Reilly for eight games and McNab and Milbury for six weeks, with each being fined $500. In addition, this incident resulted in the installation of higher glass panels enclosing rinks in hockey arenas.

Milbury served as head coach of the Boston Bruins from 1989-90, leading the team to the President's Trophy and a appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. According to Sporting News, he was named Executive of the Year.

He was the head coach of the Wales Conference team in 1991, where he caused some controversies by including enforcer Chris Nilan and checker Brian Skrudland alongside players such as Kirk Muller and Guy Lafleur. However, Nilan and Skrudland both missed the game due to injury. The league's board of governors modified their policy so that future teams could be selected by committee, as a result of Milbury's contentious roster picks.

Mike Milbury, the head coach of Boston College's hockey team, will take over the Boston College's hockey team on March 30, 1994, after losing Steve Cedorchuk. Milbury, on the other hand, left the Boston College classroom abruptly before coaching a game, citing "philosophical differences" with the school's athletics department in a press conference held on June 2, 1994. BC eventually recruited legendary coach Jerry York, who later became the head coach at Bowling Green University, to replace Milbury, while Milbury took on television analyst Chris Milbury.

Milbury was hired as the Islanders' coach in 1995 and became the general manager within three months, but Rick Bowness took over coaching duties in January 1997. Milbury's ownership was sorely lacking during several years as the team's GM. He was forced to let go of star scorer Gigmund Pálffy because team owners no longer wanted to pay his multimillion-dollar bill.

Milbury, on the other hand, has been chastised for making many seemingly poor decisions in which payroll or orders from upper management were not relevant. Many young players and prospects that Milbury left for went on to have excellent careers, many surpassing those of the players he received in return. Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Eric Brewer, Darius Kasparaitis, and Bryan McCabe were among the goaltenders, as well as forwards Roberto Luongo, Tim Connolly, Jean-Pierre Dumont, and Raffi Torres traded away defensemen Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Roberto Berard, Roberto Duro, Bryan Berard, Martin Brewer, Roberto Kas Roberto Milbury has also been chastised for poor draft-day decisions, including selecting Rick DiPietro first overall over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik, as well as his decision to include the 2001 second overall draft pick (Jason Spezza) as part of the Alexei Yashin trade.

Milbury resigned in June 2006 as Islanders GM's senior vice president of Charles Wang's sporting interests. Wang did not oppose Mike and the Mad Dog's assertion that he had fired Milbury in an interview. Milbury resigned from Wang in May 2007, citing that he had failed making hockey-related decisions and would be open to a hockey operations role in another company.

Milbury has been hired as a studio analyst for the 2007-08 season of American networks NESN, NBC, and Versus, as well as Canada's TSN. He has also worked as a Boston Bruins studio analyst, and for the past two years, he has been involved in the Winter Classic's broadcast.

Milbury joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Hockey Night in Canada in July 2008. In addition, Kenny Albert and Emmy Award-winning "Inside the Glass" reporter Pierre McGuire served as color commentator for "NHL on NBC" telecasts involving the Boston Bruins.

Milbury twice said in 2009 that "a ban on fighting will lead to the NHL's pansification," and that in doing so upset Egale Canada, a gay rights group.

Milbury has made many remarks and quips about and against women and girls in hockey since joining NBC.

Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, the Vancouver Canucks twins, were named Thelma & Louise in 2011. Henrik fired Milbury for moving Roberto Luongo as the Islanders' GM, but Daniel said, "I don't know how he looks at women." I'd be crazy if I were a woman."

He said then-Penguins coach Dan Bylsma "should have taken off his skirt and walked over (to the Flyers' bench)" to confront his colleague, Peter Laviolette, during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in April 2012.

Milbury made more disparaging remarks about women during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs (see section below), which eventually culminated in his dismissal by NBC.

Milbury has been chastised for remarks he made about P. K. Subban in 2017. Milbury called Subban "a clown" in April and said his head coach deserved a "rap on the head" for his pre-game routine, which included dancing on the ice during warmups, according to several outlets. Subban's Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Subban's Subban, Sidney Crosby, and Subban's Headban clashed off the ice during Subban's 2017 Stanley Cup Finals match in June, they engaged in a brawl that culminated in Subban's head bouncing off the ice. Subban "had it coming" during Milbury's game, according to Milbury. Many followers blasted Milbury, including some who said NBC tried to "bribe" them with a hat in exchange for handing over their signs that were suspicious of Milbury, which may have been caught on film.

Milbury made a string of inflammatory remarks during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, from shaming him to calls for him to leaving his career with NBC.

Jake Muzzin, the Maple Leafs' defenseman, sustained a fractured ankle in August 4th against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who Milbury believed he was faking. Milbury advised him not to ice and wait for a whistle. On a stretcher, Muzzin was eventually carted off the ice.

Milbury, a 5-overtime, sudden death match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Blue Jackets on August 11, tweeted that the NHL must use either a shootout or 3-on-3 method to speed up overtime in the playoffs. According to USA Today, Milbury's words "encapsulated what Milbury has been like during the Stanley Cup Playoffs: out of touch, ill prepared, and utter shame."

Milbury slammed Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins for failing out of the playoffs in the middle of a sequence on August 15, saying, "No one (Nobody's) just refused to be here and they wanted to be with their families." Milbury made these remarks two weeks earlier, when he professed to be a "fan" of Rask after watching an interview in which Rask talked about changing his newborn daughter's diapers. On August 19, it was revealed that a medical emergency involving Rask's daughter had caused him to leave the team four days later.

Milbury, who was calling a game between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, praised the playoff bubble system that was developed to isolate teams during the COVID-19 pandemic because there were "not even any women here to disrupt your focus." The NHL slammed his remarks. Milbury apologised the next day and NBC released a statement claiming the issue had been addressed, but no further detail was given, nor did they state if Milbury would face any discipline. Milbury was omitted from that evening's television schedule, according to the Washington Post, and the following weekend's broadcasting teams didn't announce until Saturday morning. Milbury revealed on August 22 that he would not be absent from the broadcast booth for the remainder of the playoffs so as not to be a distraction. Milbury's time with the network was concluded, and he would not be included in the network's broadcasting NHL games in 2021.

Milbury defended his original remarks in a wide-ranging interview with The Boston Globe in July, 2021, saying, "I want to describe the comment from the day." I've been on a number of road trips and around a lot of guys who are young, fit, well-compensated, and have celebrity status, and when they go on the road, they play hard and party hard. A lot of people's attention is on women, and I certainly don't mean that in a negative way."

Or any wives?

Or children?

Is it necessary to mention the entire pantheon of the human race in order to be politically correct?

Milbury was charged on three counts in December 2011 after a Pee-Wee hockey game where he was coaching a child: assault and battery on a child, threats to commit a murder, and disorderly conduct. He was never detained. Milbury, an assistant coach for the Boch Blazers Pee-Wee hockey team, intervened on the ice during the game between his own son and a 12-year-old boy from the opposing team, according to The Boston Herald. Milbury reportedly "charged out onto the rink and verbally praised, grabbed, and shook the 12-year-old opposition player." Milbury's children's parents praised his son's behavior as "horrific," while his father accused Milbury of grabbing and shaking his son and throwing him over the ice for thirty seconds. Milbury, through his counsel, denied all charges. Milbury's owner defended Milbury's conduct, claiming that Milbury "did everything right... [he] didn't touch any child inappropriately." Milbury's broadcasting contract was reached by NBC and Milbury, who were unable to deal with the situation.

Milbury appeared in late December, 2011 before a clerk magistrate in Brookline District Court to answer the charges. The magistrate determined that there weren't enough evidence to back any of the three charges, which were all dismissed, after a closed-door hearing that lasted several hours. Milbury expressed gratitude for the court's decision and said he felt he acted responsibly as a "supervisor" of the ice (and claimed the referee had already left the rink) and that if the situation arose again, he would do the same thing.

Coaching career

Milbury served as head coach of the Boston Bruins from 1989-90, leading the team to the President's Trophy and a appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Sporting News named him Executive of the Year.

He was the head coach of the Wales Conference team at the 1991 All-Star Game, where he caused some controversies by including enforcer Chris Nilan and checker Brian Skrudland ahead of players such as Kirk Muller and Guy Lafleur. However, Nilan and Skrudland were unable to participate due to sickness. The league's board of governors modified their policy in the aftermath of Milbury's contentious roster picks, so that future teams can be chosen by committee.

Mike Milbury, the head coach of Boston College, will take over the hockey team's head coach, replacing Steve Cedorchuk, on March 30, 1994. In a press conference held on June 2, 1994, Milbury abruptly left the Boston College teaching a game citing "cultural inconsistencies" with the school's athletics department. BC eventually recruited legendary coach Jerry York, who later became the head coach at Bowling Green University, to replace Milbury, while Milbury took over as a television analyst.

Milbury was hired as the Islanders' coach in 1995 and became the general manager in three months, but Rick Bowness took over teaching duties in January 1997. Milbury's ownership retained the team on an austere budget during several years as the team's GM. In 1999, he was forced to sell celebrity scorer igmund Pálffy because team owners no longer wanted to pay his multi-million-dollar contract.

Milbury, on the other hand, has been chastised for making several seemingly poor decisions in which payroll or executive orders were not relevant. Many young players and prospects who left Milbury during their careers went on to have successful careers, often surpassing those of the players he inherited in return. Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Eric Brewer, Darius Kasparaitis, and Bryan McCabe have all been traded away by defensemen Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Roberto Luongo, Thom Connolly, Tim Connolly, Jean-Pierre Dumont, and Raffi Torres; goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Tommy Salo; and forwards Roberto Luongo, Brent Beno Milbury has also been chastised for making poor draft-day decisions, including selecting Rick DiPietro first overall over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik, as well as his decision to include Jason Spezza, the 2001 second overall draft pick (Jason Spezza) as part of the Alexei Yashin trade.

Milbury resigned in June 2006 as Islanders GM's senior vice president of Charles Wang's sports interests. Wang did not challenge Mike and the Mad Dog's assertion that he had fired Milbury during an interview with the hosts. Milbury resigned from Wang in May 2007, saying he was unable to make hockey-related decisions and would be open to a hockey operations role in another company.

Milbury, a studio analyst for American networks NESN, NBC, and Versus, plus Canada's TSN, has recruited Milbury as a studio analyst for the 2007–08 season. He has worked as the Boston Bruins' studio analyst, and over the past two years, he has been involved in the Winter Classic broadcast.

Milbury's Hockey Night in Canada began in July 2008. In addition, he served as color commentator on "NHL on NBC" telecasts involving the Boston Bruins, including Kenny Albert and Emmy Award-winning "Inside-the-Glass" reporter Pierre McGuire.

Milbury said twice that "a ban on fighting will lead to the NHL's pansification" of the NHL, and that is in effect offending Egale Canada, a gay rights group.

Milbury has made several remarks and jokes about and about women and girls in hockey since joining NBC.

In 2011, he referred to Vancouver Canucks twins Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin as Thelma & Louise. Henrik retaliated by shaming Roberto Luongo as the Islanders' GM, although Daniel said, "I don't know how he looks at women." If I were a woman, I'd be pretty mad.

He said then-Penguins coach Dan Bylsma "should have pulled off his skirt and stepped over (to the Flyers' bench)" in an April 2012 match against Pittsburgh's Peter Laviolette.

Milbury made more disparaging remarks about women in August, 2020, which culminated in his dismissal by NBC.

Milbury has been chastised for remarks he made about P. K. Subban in 2017. Milbury called Subban "a clown" and said he deserved a "rap on the head" from his head coach for his pre-game routine, which included dancing on the ice during warmups, which were dismissed by many outlets as racist. Subban's Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Subban's Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby and Subban's Headbouncing off the ice ended in a fight that culminated in Subban's head bouncing off the ice during a 2017 Stanley Cup Finals game in June. Milbury said after the game that Subban "had it coming." Many fans blasted Milbury over their remarks, including some who said NBC tried to "bribe" them with a hat in exchange for handing over their handwriting that was deemed out of date.

Milbury made a string of inflammatory remarks during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, from mocking him to calls for him to losing his position with NBC.

Jake Muzzin, the Maple Leafs' defenseman, sustained an injury while Milbury thought he was faking during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on August 4. Milbury advised him not to stick on the ice and try to make a whistle. The ice was eventually carted off on a stretcher by Muzzin.

Milbury said that the NHL must choose either a shootout or 3-on-3 method to accelerate overtime in the playoffs after a 5-overtime, sudden death game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Blue Jackets on August 11, 2013. The remarks, according to USA Today, "encapsulated what Milbury has been like during the Stanley Cup Playoffs: out of touch, poorly prepared, and a complete embarrassment."

Milbury chastised Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins' decision to opt out of the playoffs in the middle of a series on August 15, saying "Nobody's) simply refused to be here and they wanted to be with their families." Milbury made the following remarks after watching an interview in which Rask discussed changing his newborn daughter's diapers two weeks earlier, where he claimed to be a "fan" of Rask and criticizing his dedication to hockey. On August 19, it was announced that a medical emergency involving Rask's daughter had caused him to leave the team.

Milbury praised the playoff bubble system that helped distinguish teams during the COVID-19 pandemic on August 20, saying there were "not even any women here to disturb your concentration." The NHL reacted angrily to his remarks. Milbury apologised the next day, and NBC released a statement confirming that the issue had been discussed, but that no further details would be given, nor did they state whether Milbury would face any discipline. Milbury was omitted from that evening's broadcasting lineup, according to the Washington Post, and it did not announce the following weekend's broadcasting teams until Saturday morning. Milbury revealed on August 22 that he would not be stepping away from the television booth for the remainder of the playoffs so as not to be a hindrance. Milbury's time with the network was ended, and he would not be a part of the 2021 NHL season, the country's last season broadcasting NHL games.

Milbury defended his original remarks in a wide-ranging interview with The Boston Globe in July, 2021, adding, "I want to clarify the comment from the day." I've been on a lot of road trips and around a lot of guys who are young, fit, well-compensated, have celebrity status, and when they get to the streets, they play hard and party hard. And a lot of people's focus is on women, and I certainly don't mean that in a bad way." "What if I had said there aren't any dogs here to distract the players?"

Or any wives?

Or children?

Is it necessary to describe the entire pantheon of the human race in order to be politically correct?

Milbury was charged on three counts stemming from an incident that occurred on December 9, 2011, where he was coaching a child, assault and battery on a person, threats to commit a crime, and disorderly conduct. He was never arrested. Milbury, an assistant coach with the Boch Blazers Pee-Wee hockey team, intervened in a scuffle on the ice during a game between his own son and a 12-year-old boy from the opposing team, according to The Boston Herald. Milbury allegedly "charged out onto the rink and vociferously berated, grabbed, and shook the 12-year-old opposition player." Milbury's mother praised Milbury's behavior as "horrible," while his father accused Milbury of grabbing and shaking his son, and lifting him above the ice for thirty seconds. Milbury denied all charges through his counsel. Milbury's behavior was condemned by the team's owner, who said Milbury "did everything right [he] didn't touch any kid inappropriately." When he dealt with Milbury, NBC and Milbury reached a mutual agreement to suspend him from air.

Milbury appeared in late December, 2011 to appear in court as a clerk magistrate. The magistrate found that there were no reasons to back any of the three charges, which were all dismissed, after a closed-door hearing that lasted several hours. Milbury expressed appreciation for the court's findings and said he felt he acted responsibly as a "supervisor" of the ice (and claimed that the referee had already left the rink) and that he would do the same thing if the situation arose again.

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