PHT Morning Skate: Kings broadcaster Bob Miller is retiring after 44 years

–After calling 3,351 games over 44 years, Los Angeles Kings broadcaster is calling it quits. The 78-year-old is planning on calling two more games before the end of the regular season before officially putting an end to his hall-of-fame career. In the last year, Miller has had a quadruple bypass and two mild strokes. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a long career in my chosen profession. This is not the way I wanted it to work out. I really wanted to finish all the games this season.” (Associated Press)

 –Oilers forward Patrick Maroon has always been a bit heavy, even as a kid. But after he finished last season with 10 points in 10 games (playing with Connor McDavid), he knew he had to shed some weight. “I had to get in better shape. I just had to get my body to where it needed to be to keep up with Connor. I wanted that spot. I felt like I could take that spot there and just ride it out as long as I can and as far as I can.” Maroon was 250 pounds at the start of the off-season. After a lot of hard work, he reported to Oilers camp at 229. (Sports Illustrated)

–Former NHL Christian Hanson wrote an interesting piece for The Players’ Tribune. In his article, he mentioned that he was 12 years old when he found out his dad was in the movie “Slap Shot” (no, seriously! He had no idea his dad was a movie star before that point). (The Players’ Tribune)

–There’s no better way to celebrate your birthday than with a big win over an original six rival, and that’s exactly what Henrik Lundqvist did last night, as the Rangers took down the Bruins 2-1. You can watch the highlights of that game by clicking the video at the top of the page.

–It seems like the Canucks management team has finally acknowledged that their team must go through a rebuild in order to become competitive again. In order to continue on that path, they should strongly consider trading the Sedin twins away before the 2018 trade deadline. (The Hockey News)

–After years of trading prospects and draft picks for proven players, the Detroit Red Wings were put in a position to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline. If you’re wondering whether or not GM Ken Holland regrets trading away those young assets away all those years, the answer is a resounding no. “You’re trying to go on a playoff run. That’s what teams [like the Minnesota Wild and the Washington Capitals] did here in the last 48 hours. When you’ve got a good team, players in that locker room, fans, the coach, they want to know: Can you do something to give yourself an opportunity to up the odds? I’d like to think that through the years I’ve done it. Sometimes it doesn’t work out.” (NHL.com)

–Elliotte Friedman’s latest “30 Thoughts” blog shed some light on some trades that were left on the table before the deadline. The Canadiens didn’t want to give up top prospect Mikhail Sergachev in a deal for Matt Duchene, the Bruins tried to land Radim Vrbata and Dmitry Kulikov, Nashville took a look at Evander Kane, and much, much more. (Sportsnet)