The Bruins lost one defenseman to retirement and shortly signed another hours later on Wednesday, announcing the signing of Brandon Carlo to a six-year contract with an annual cap hit of $4.1 million.

“This is a huge day for me and my family. I’m obviously very excited, I’m very thankful for this opportunity,” said Carlo. “The coaching staff and everybody has done a great job with me over the past couple of years to help me develop and get to this point. I’m very pumped.”

Carlo has nicely developed into a reliable top-four defenseman in Boston. He appeared in just 27 games this past season, with things going downhill after suffering a concussion after a hit from Tom Wilson.

A second concussion in the playoffs after a clean hit from Islanders’ forward Cal Clutterbuck ended his postseason early, and drastically changed the course of the series.

“I’m feeling over the moon today, but in general, before all this contract stuff, I’ve been feeling very good. I’ve been feeling great, completely back to normal, 100 percent for, I would say, well over a month and a half now,” said Carlo.

“My recovery was pretty quick within that guideline, and I felt very good. Everything is good there; training has been going well. That hasn’t thrown me off in any way. I’m just continuing to excel in that and I’m feeling really good.”

Carlo has yet to get back onto the ice but plans on doing so next week.

As we’ve seen all too often with athletes in the past, concussions are no joke and have ended many careers prematurely. While Carlo has had issues with concussions prior to the two this season, he never worried about his career coming to an end before he was ready, knowing he still has a bright future ahead.

“I’ve never felt like that. I definitely recognize that these injuries can affect people in different ways, and it’s something to be taken very seriously. But for myself, with the way that I recovered from my concussions and through the injury process, I never felt, in any way, shape, or form, that my career was going to be ending any time soon,” he said.

“I think, just going through all of these situations, I’ve learned more and grown a lot from it. From the focal point of if it was going to affect me going forward, I don’t feel that way. I’m still a young guy, I still feel very sharp in my mind. I feel great in my body.”

With Carlo locked up for six years, anchoring the right side of the Bruins blue line behind Charlie McAvoy, Carlo hopes to take that next step in his development on the ice, as well as his role as a leader inside the Bruins room.

He’s spent all five of his professional seasons in Boston.

“You know, when they came to me with a six-year deal, it was a huge compliment, recognizing within the room there’s areas where I want to become a leader and step up and be a leader,” he said. “There’s a lot more room for that going forward.”

With the left side of the Bruins defense more of a puzzle than the right, Carlo’s expected defensive partner remains a mystery. For most of his time in Boston, he spent it to the right of Torey Krug who is now in St. Louis. If Carlo had his choice, he’d be paired with a defenseman with a similar mindset and skillset as Krug.

“For me, I’ve always loved playing with puck-moving guys. Offensive guys. I feel like I pride myself on the defensive aspect of my game for a long time now. For me, I want to continue to develop as well. I think just, for a pairing I want to be established on, would be primarily focused upon being as steady as possible,” Carlo said.

“I think it’s very important to have consistency within your game and within your pairing and your D partner. I found that with some guys and it’s been great. I want to establish it, not just as a defensive pair, but a pair that can be lethal moving the puck and creating offense as well.”

While Carlo is here long term, Kevan Miller announced his retirement on his Instagram Wednesday morning.

“Millsy and I communicated a lot and those past two years were crazy things that he had to battle back from. But if there was anybody that was going to do it, it was going to be him. It’s good for him to be recognized as that leader and as that guy,” said Carlo.

“I’m just so thankful to have him around the room, to develop the friendship that I had with him. I know he’ll be a guy in my corner, throughout these next six years especially, that I can rely on and lean on at any moment. I just love that guy so much.”

An unrestricted free agent, Miller suffered a season-ending injury during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, missing the entire second round series against the Islanders.

"Although my spirit for the game is there, unfortunately my body isn't," Miller wrote on Instagram. "My overall health and my family are now the priority. This was not an easy decision to make, but it's time to hang up my skates."

With the loss of the Miller, the Bruins lose some toughness on their blueline. Injuries and setbacks defined the end of Miller’s professional career, one that saw him spend his entire seven-year career with the Bruins.

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