By Gavin Lindahl
Assistant Sports Editor
Ask any Buffalo Sabres fan who the best player currently on the team is, and you’ll most likely get the same answer – Ryan Miller.
The 33-year-old American goalie has been backstopping the team regularly for the better part of a decade and has been a main fixture of several successful Buffalo squads. Miller also tended the pipes for the silver-medal-winning USA squad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and has just as strong a chance to start again in Sochi.
With a .926 save percentage on the season, Miller ranks among the league’s top goalies. And it’s not a fluke either. Miller has been consistent throughout his entire NHL career – something most NHL goalies cannot boast. He may be ranked 25th overall in his goals against average, but it is not reflective of his play. Rather it’s a reflection of an inexperienced team around him.
All in all, Miller is arguably the best goalie in the NHL, or at least among the best. So why would the Sabres want to trade him?
Times change, and decisions have to be made. The Sabres are ranked last in the league, and have begun to focus entirely on youth for what has the potential to be an interesting rebuild. A rebuild Miller, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, doesn’t quite fit into.
There’s no promise Miller will sign with the Sabres again, so the risk of the all-star goalie testing the market in free agency and leaving the Sabres empty handed is all too realistic. While management and Miller have talked a little about the possibility of a re-sign, there’s nothing to cling to.
As mentioned, Miller is on the wrong side of 30. So even if the Sabres do re-sign him, a betting man might say he’s got another six seasons in him, but a much safer estimate is another three or four. This puts the timeframe for Miller’s decline or retirement right around the time the Sabres’ young guns should really begin competing.
That far down the road, Miller’s trade value will be diminished. The Sabres would have to move him for less or let him walk for nothing. Neither is ideal. The smartest thing to do is to trade Miller now. His top-end talent could fetch a sweet haul, and there’s plenty of room to acquire or groom a young goalie to take the wheel.
The Sabres’ 25-year-old backup goalie Jhonas Enroth doesn’t seem far from the mark of becoming a starting NHL goalie, and younger still are goalie prospects Andrey Makarov and Linus Ullmark who show signs of developing well. The Sabres are also armed with a plethora of draft picks, skill to move and money to spend. Rest assured, the future of the Sabres’ netminding is far from desperate.
It’s hard not to be sentimental about Miller, though. Many Sabres fans have grown up watching him representing their city and their nation proudly. Miller is loved, but it is time to cut the cord.
Keeping Miller around for the remainder of his career is like putting icing on a rotten cake; the next few Sabres seasons will likely be a wash, so why have him toil away here?
The likely destinations for Miller are teams that are close to going all the way. As a Sabres fan, I’d rather Miller end his hockey career hoisting a cup in St. Louis than watching him anounce his retirement in April after a 29th place finish for Buffalo.
Bringing in a bundle of skill and potential may not be the bang Sabres fans saw Ryan Miller going out on, but it’s the one that fits. The talent Miller can bring to Buffalo to ensure years of future success long after his retirement may be the most lasting impact of his legacy for the blue and gold.
Gavin Lindahl is the assistant sports editor of The Bona Venture. His email is lindahgh12@bonaventure.edu.
