Buffalo Sabres sign goaltender Ryan Miller to a five-year extension
Buffalo Sabres' goaltender Ryan Miller deflects a shot during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto,Tuesday April 1, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
2008-07-18 12:30:00
BUFFALO, N.Y. - After watching Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Brian Campbell leave over the past year, the Buffalo Sabres were determined to keep Ryan Miller off the list of high profile departures.
The Sabres locked up their franchise goalie with a five-year, US$31.25-million extension on Friday, ending speculation that Miller might be gone after this season and the end of his contract. Miller, who just turned 28 on Thursday, will make $6.25 million each year through the 2013-14 season.
"He's established himself as one of the top young goaltenders," general manager Darcy Regier said. "When you're talking about conference finals, playoff wins, what he's done in the playoffs, what he's done in his career ... when you look at his history, it's not about potential. This is a goaltender that we believe in."
When former co-captains Drury and Briere bolted Buffalo last July as free agents, Miller - Buffalo's fifth-round pick in 1999 - quickly become the team's leader, both on and off the ice. And despite some early season struggles, the Michigan State product almost single-handedly willed the Sabres into the playoffs after Buffalo shipped two-time all-star defenceman Campbell to San Jose at the trade deadline in February.
Miller played in a franchise-high 76 games this past season, including a stretch of 34 straight starts. He posted a 36-27-10 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and notched a career-high three shutouts.
That came on the heels of leading the Sabres to a second straight appearance in the Eastern Conference finals in 2006-07, setting a franchise mark with 40 wins, and earning the start in goal for the Eastern Conference in the all-star game.
Signing Miller became a top priority for the team this off-season, especially after rumours Miller could eventually land in his native Michigan to play in Detroit when his contract was up. Miller, though, routinely denied those rumours.
"Our first conversation was on July 1, so it was done in a fairly short amount of time," Regier said. "Ryan was very open to getting to work on it, so I think that makes a world of a difference."
For his career, Miller boasts a 112-68-19 mark along with a 2.69 GAA and .908 save percentage.
With Miller's deal complete, the Sabres can move forward trying to extend forward Jason Pominville's contract. Pominville, who has steadily become a key cog on the team over the past two seasons, is due to become a restricted free agent after this season.
Pominville finished second on the team with a career-high 80 points while playing in all 82 games last season. The 25-year-old also established a career-high with 53 assists.
"It's a good start," Regier said. "Now we can focus on Jason."
sabres fan (Posted 2008-07-21 13:17:36)
OK. Miller's signed. No doubt the cheapskate Sabres owner is done spending so the rest of the more valuable and needed resignees can now figure where they stand and sign with a contender.
Troy Martinson (Posted 2008-07-21 00:06:35)
Looks like Hockeytown will have to wait 5yrs for their hometown boy. The Wings could probably win another Cup with the best avaiable back-up when Ossy is done...
Chris Katica (Posted 2008-07-19 15:58:40)
Im glad for Sabre fans but he is a little overpaid. This makes Fleury's deal a bargain especially for 7yrs. Say what you want about Fleury but at least he had a very good playoff which is more than Miller ever had. Miller is a top 10 goalie but at the bottom of the list.
Top 10 are as follows
1.Roberto Luongo (team stinks but talent wise still the best)
2.Marty Brodeur (age an issue but limit him to 60 games in reg. season)
3.Marty Turco (shedded his playoff rep)
4.Evgeni Nabokov (real Vezina winner)
5.Mikka Kipprusoff (elite goalie especially after his yearly october slump is done)
6.JS Giguere (proven playoff winner and very consistant)
7.Marc-Andre Fluery (go ahead laugh but at lest he can play in the playoffs)
8.Henrik Lundqvist (Arod of goaltending great regular seasons playoffs other story. 11-12 2.78 GAA 908 sv percentage and no olympics dont count)
9.Ryan Miller (solid goalie needs more consistancy to move up on list)
10.Marty Biron/Chris Osgood (im torn here Biron has more talent and is younger but Osgood is a champ. I get the fact he didnt see much work but he didnt allow any softies minus Adam Halls bankshot in game 3. Also Detroit would have been out in round 1 if Hasek played all the games)
Jim Reinecke (Posted 2008-07-19 12:24:38)
Oleh, you are so on target: I saw Osgood with another team for two seasons (namely, the Blues) and I still consider Manny Legace an upgrade. (This would be difficult to prove but fun to debate, but it's my firm belief that the Wings would have won the Cup this year with Legace in goal. . .or even Jimmy Howard!) But I don't think that the story is Miller vs. Osgood. . .Miller should be compared to a netminder of similar age and experience, not to mention the competitive quality of the teams that both men play for. Therefore, the more compelling argument would be Miller vs. Rick Di Pietro; when you consider the mega-bucks, mega-seasons pact that Garth Snow-job awarded Di Pietro along with his record of achievement and then compare that to Miller and his new contract as well as his resume, I think that the Sabres goaltending future is more secure than that of the Isles.
Mark Zak (Posted 2008-07-19 01:23:37)
You are right on Mr R Thomas. It is up to management now. Miller's signing is a step and show of faith. But, there has to be more. The Buffalo Sabres need more defenseman and to sign Lindy Ruff long term. I am still not convinced ,Tom Cheapo Golisano will do what it takes. So, keep your fingers crossed, Sabre fans.
smack yourself stupid (Posted 2008-07-19 00:09:19)
Well gee friggin whiz, if Osgood is so good, how many cups did he win with the Islanders? the Blues? I rest my case...
R Thomas (Posted 2008-07-18 21:53:38)
Why is everyone dogging Detroit? Jealous? They have the Cup and have been the most successful organization over the past 20 pre and post strike. From all I read, most organizations wish they had the organization and talent (front office and on the ice) Detroit has. There's a lot of blah, blah and what if. So next year everyone will have the opportunity to challenge Detroit and prove they are better. Bloggers or the league can not annoit the next Cup champion. Mr. Miller and the Sabres will have an opportunity. Lets see if they win one by the time he's 34. Signing one or two players does not win the Cup. Lets see if Sabres' management is going to continue along this path. If not, they will like so many others have done in the past and give the fans of Buffalo false hope.
Jason (Posted 2008-07-18 19:20:15)
Miller is well worth the money. After this season he'd of commanded $7mil plus as a free agent. Now we have him locked in until he is 34. I love how 3 seasons past the work stoppage player salaries are beyond what caused the work stoppage to begin with. Bye bye Detriot rumors. Detriot can't even fill the arena for stanley cup games, what a joke! And they call it "Hockey Town", no one can afford to go to the games tix are so expensive. And to say Osgood has half the skill and atheleticism as Miller is just insane. You could put a safety cone in the detroit net and they would win games. They allowed an average of around 20 shots on net throughout the playoffs. Miller saw over 30 shots a night playing in 76 games (34 straight starts) and had similar numbers the past 3 seasons. He just didn't have as much offensive support this season. Osgood on the other hand, split time with Hasek and played in about 40 with the best puck possesion team in the league. He barely had any work to do. I look forward to Detriot facing Pittsburg again in the finals. But this year Sidney and Co. will come out on top, so sorry Hossa, you made the wrong choice. Back to Buffalo, now all we need is to get Pominville signed to an extension and get some of our kids to realize their potential. Buffalo will be a 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs, but I don't see us making it past the second round until the 09-10 season.
Lamar (Posted 2008-07-18 19:10:40)
I'm glad they signed him even though I slam him for the soft goals, my nickname for him is Mr. Softee. Even though he gets caught out of position a lot(due to lack of an effective D corps) which leads to most of his goals against, he still has flashes of being a guy who can steal a game. Only if he can get consistent will the big contract be worth it. Now if only Darcy could improve the D in front of him so he wouldn't have to wander out of net so far maybe the guy can cut down on the softies. Unfortunately for Pominville this puts the Sabres at about $50 million and they didn't want ot go over 52 this year.
Felix MacLean (Posted 2008-07-18 16:23:52)
This is good news for Sabres fans. It's too bad that Briere, Drury, and Campbell got away, though. With a little bit of tinkering, the old lineup would have given the Western Conference powers a fight in the finals.
Oleh (Posted 2008-07-18 16:15:40)
Osgood sucks put him on any other team and see how he does! Miller is overrated not as much as it appears as Osgood is. Detroit can have anyone in net, it would not make a difference. We all know they have the highest skill level of any team. Anyway, Miller lets up more soft goals than I have ever seen, and i know since I watched 82 Sabres games this year. He does make those occasional highlight reel saves, maybe if they don't overwork him this year he will be as brilliant as 2006-2007.
Pat Stewart (Posted 2008-07-18 15:10:20)
I have liked Miller thus far in his career, but this seems like alot of money for him. He has yet to win anything that matters, and is coming off his most mediocre season to this point. I worry that he may be the type of player who's production drops after getting a contract like this one. The reason I say that is the whole Marty Biron situation. Miller played his ace off while Biron was there, but as soon as Biron was traded, his numbers dropped. He may be that guy who needs to be pushed, and gets too comfortable if he isn't. I hope he isn't, for the sake of Sabres fans, who certainly deserve a heck of a lot better than their team has given them over the last couple years
Adam (Posted 2008-07-18 14:57:50)
Osgood IS better than Miller. How many cups does Miller have? He had quite the opportunity a couple years ago when you guys made it to the conf finals. Ozzie has won two cups on his own, TWO. Enough said.
HARV (Posted 2008-07-18 14:37:16)
I like this deal, expect Miller to have solid season this year with a (hopefully) reliable backup in Lalime. Hopefully Pominville's contract follows soon.
Diesel (Posted 2008-07-18 14:12:03)
I'm not sure how I feel about this deal as a Sabres fan. I think that Miller has proven himself to be a solid goaltender, but he's not yet among the league's elite...and that's what this deal pays him (actually, if I've got the right numbers, he'll average more than Brodeur ($5.2M per year through 2012) and Kiprusoff ($5.8M per year through 2014) under this deal). Hopefully, he'll take his game to the next level over the next few years...
Lou (Posted 2008-07-18 14:10:24)
Good job Sabres, Miller is one of the top 5 goalies in the league. & if we had 1/2 the defense that Detroit has, we'd have one a cup too. Can't tell me Osgood is better than Miller. You guys would be unbeatable if you had Miller.
Adam (Posted 2008-07-18 13:52:45)
You guys can have him, he is horrible. 6 million a year??? Way over paid! He lets in AT LEAST one soft goal a game and also, lets see how long he lasts (in terms of health) when you guys play him 70 games a year. I never believed the rumors and never wanted him in the first place. There is a reason we are the best team in the league, WE DONT OVERPAY OUR PLAYERS!!! In fact, players take a pay cut to play with us, i.e. Hossa, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Draper, Rafalski, etc.
Vanegenov (Posted 2008-07-18 13:45:02)
EAT IT DETROIT RUMOURISTS!!!!!!!
Alexander K (Posted 2008-07-18 13:19:51)
Let's hope this ends all those stupid Detroit rumors. He'll be with us for another 6 years! Go Sabres!
Jim T (Posted 2008-07-18 12:56:09)
IT'S MILLER TIME!
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