Brandon Carlo is in Boston for the long-term, signing a six-year extension with an annual cap hit of $4.1 million on Wednesday.
If there's any reason for some trepidation regarding that contract, it would be Carlo's health, specifically his concussion history. He has suffered at least three and probably four in his five-year career, including two in three months this spring.
Carlo suffered one in the final game of the regular season as a rookie and missed Boston's playoff series against the Ottawa Senators as a result. He is suspected to have suffered another in 2020 just before the season was suspended.
This season, Carlo suffered one in early March when Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson hit him in the head. He spent the night in the hospital and wound up missing nearly a month as a result, while Wilson was suspended seven games for the hit.
The second came in the second round of the playoffs when a clean hit from New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck resulted in Carlo's head hitting the glass. Carlo missed the remainder of the series.
Meeting with the media via Zoom on Wednesday, Carlo provided a positive update on his health.
"I've been feeling very good," Carlo said. "I've been feeling great, completely back to normal, 100 percent for, I would say, well over a month and a half now. 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 said after the season that he was never worried about his career being in jeopardy, and he reiterated that on Wednesday.
"No. Personally, I've never felt like that," Carlo said. "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. 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. That was not a concern of mine, no."
Carlo said he's happy to be staying in Boston long-term and appreciative of the Bruins' belief in him. He also said he recognizes that with a long-term extension like this, there comes an expectation of being a team leader -- something Carlo already began emerging as this season.
"When they came to me with a six-year deal, it was a huge compliment," Carlo said. "Recognizing within the room, there's areas where I want to become a leader and step up and be a leader. There's a lot more room for that going forward. I think this contract kind of reflects on that. I'm excited for that opportunity.
"It's always something that I feel like I kind of had a little bit within me, is the leadership component. I just want to continue to grow in that regard. The responsibility comes with this deal, being with the terms and whatnot, to step up in that way and I fully plan to. Huge compliment by the organization and by Don [Sweeney] and everybody to recognize that within me, and that definitely made me feel good."
