Kings Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller, at his West Hills home since Wednesday after he was released from the hospital for treatment of a mild stroke, said Friday he plans to meet soon with team officials to discuss how to move forward with his ability and availability to call games.
“A lot has happened in the last 12 months, and you just are concerned about getting on a plane and having something happen at 35,000 feet,” said Miller. “We will take it day by day and see what’s going on.”
Miller, 78 and recovering from a five-way heart-bypass operation in February last year, said he will meet in the coming days with team senior vice president of communications and broadcasting Mike Altieri and president of business operations Luc Robitalle. The anticipation is Miller will only do home games the rest of this season and evaluate beyond that.
Altieri said Friday he expects to meet with Miller after the current Kings’ road trip and “as it always with Bob, whatever he wants to do, we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”
The Kings are on a four-game East Coast road trip through Feb. 9, which Miller was not scheduled to work. They don’t play again until a game at Staples Center on Feb. 16, which then leads to another home game on Feb. 18, a game in Anaheim on Feb. 19, a road game at Colorado on Feb. 21 and two more home games on Feb. 23 and 25, all of which Miller intended to call.
Miller was in the middle of doing several projects at the recent NHL All-Star Weekend at Staples Center when he showed up Saturday for a Fox Sports West live broadcast but was bothered by the fact he continued to slur some of his words. His wife, Judy, who was with him, also noticed the right side of his face did not look well.
Taken to County USC Medical Center by ambulance, Miller was then moved to USC Keck Medical Facility in downtown L.A., where a stent was inserted and a procedure was done to clean up a carotid artery that had plaque buildup.
Miller said he was out with friends on the Friday night before “having some wine and a bite to eat, and noticed I was slurring some words, but I thought a good night’s sleep would be all I needed. I got up Saturday morning, got dressed, drove to Staples Center, and Judy said, ‘You don’t look good.’ When I got to the TV set to work, they didn’t want me to go on camera.”
Miller was to be on an outdoor FSW set with Patrick O’Neal for a preview show leading up to the NBCSN telecast of the NHL Skills Contest.
Miller, who was awake and alert the entire time paramedics were tending to him last Saturday, recalled a humorous moment as he was in the ambulance waiting to be transported and heard a voice outside saying, “Is Bobby Miller in there?”
The door came open and there was NHL legend Bobby Orr poking his head into the ambulance.
“I might have thought at the moment I had left and gone to heaven,” Miller said.
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