Buffalo Sabres Sign Ryan Miller To Five Year Extension
The Buffalo Sabres and goalie Ryan Miller have reached an agreement on a five year extension that will keep Miller in Buffalo until the end of the 2013-2014 season. No details about the dollars have been released yet but Miller should now be a lock to join Nino Brown’s Cash Money Brothers Club (CMB – we all we got!). Good for you Ryan, say “hi†to Pookey for me.
Check out the Sabres announcement for more (but not much more) details.
I’m surprised that Buffalo committed five years to Miller. I had thought that both sides would want a three year deal. It would give Miller more time to prove himself to the Sabres and after those three years were up he would be able to sign for even bigger bucks here or elsewhere (assuming that he plays up to the level that is expected). Those three years would also give the Sabres coaches and management enough time to determine if Jhonas Enroth, not Miller, is Buffalo’s goalie of the future. If Enroth is the real deal I can’t picture him playing in Portland for two or three years and then sitting behind Miller for another couple of years. I’m already wondering if it will be Miller or Enroth who gets traded in three years. There’s nothing like living in the moment.
BTW – The press release on Sabres.com was posted at 10:08 AM but I didn’t get my “EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS†text message from the Sabres until 11:20 AM. WTFF? Step it up boys. The last time I checked it didn’t take an hour and ten minutes to type 160 characters.
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I would say that it’s official.
The Sabres’ management has made enough “right” moves this off-season to counter the “wrong” moves they made last.
I so hope it’s a 5/25 contract.
No way Ben, Darcy still sucks. No one wants to play here. Miller wasn’t a UFA so it doesn’t count. Pominville still hasn’t signed. Briere’s cute smile is down in Philly. Captain Clutch clutched the Rangers to the Cup. Campbell won one too in San Jose.
I’ll throw my hat in the ring and say 5 years/$33M.
WGR reporting 32.5 at 6.5 over 5 years.
$31.25 over 5 (6.25 per) is the contract
Excellent New Jack City referrence
How long til Bucky says this was a bad move? (not that I care what he thinks)
We paid franchise goalie money to a slightly above average goalie. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw!
Bucky will compare it to Dipietro’s contract as a way to show how the Sabres are obviously not committed to Ryan Miller.
Seriously Mark, which one was it? Darcy or Quinn? Which one slept with your wife, girlfriend or partner?
He got basically the same contract as Lundqvist, one year shorter. Despite having oh so amazing stats while playing behind a defensive team, unlike Miller, Henrik’s winning percentage is only .02 better than Ryan and he has been to two less Eastern Conference Finals.
Let me guess, you would have signed Ryan to a 5 year, $25m contract?
one thing is for sure…the last 3 teams to win the cup spent big money on goalies….um…what’s that?
Huet at 5.75M
Lundqvist at 6.875M
Miller – $6.25 (or $5.9M if you count this year at $3.75M)
Miller’s money is right in line with the market. And we control 5 of his UFA years. He’s better than Huet, but not quite as good at Lundqvist.
What did you think we were going to pay? Will the deal be worth it in 2012? I happen to think it might.
The very thing you got on Darcy for during Druiere-gate you are condemning him for here. He’s being pro-active, signing our stars to long-term deals. Which is it?
Mark is angry because hes 758th in the waiting list for season tickets.
Based on statistics, he merits a contract of between $3-4 mil/year. I know someone else would have overpaid royally for him next summer, but better someone else than us.
And you can’t possibly think that he took us to 2 conference finals. How many games do you recall him stealing? That would be none. Offense fueled our drive there. What happened when the offense dried up last year? Did Miller come to the rescue? No. He was average. In the shootouts? Below average. He has done nothing to justify getting paid franchise money.
Maybe a lot of this money he will be making is based on potential, but by 27, he should be more established by now.
Lastly, in the comparison between him and Henrik, Henrik is far superior, and I don’t buy that he has better defense.
Lunqvist: GAA Save %
05-06 2.24 .922
06-07 2.34 .917
07-08 2.23 .912
Miller: GAA Save %
05-06 2.60 .914
06-07 2.73 .911
07-08 2.64 .906
Clearly Miller’s numbers are not in the same ball park as Lundqvist’s, but he will sure be paid like it.
sabremark….buffalo played shitty giveaway hockey last year
If you can convince Hasek to sign here for $2m keller, you deserve the keys to the Aud. Giguere was getting $5m… on a contract signed in 2003. Ward was a rookie.
Well Lundqvist is getting paid much higher then Miller.
7.750 this year,6.875 in 09-10, 7.750 in 10-11 then 6.875 in the final years.
Miikka Kiprusoff is a deadly contract. He had a similar year to Miller’s but hes on the downside of his career. And he’s getting 22.5 Million the next 3 years.
Keller, he was a sieve in the shootouts. As I have pointed out before, shootouts were one of the big reason we didn’t make the playoffs last year. And, we did play shitty giveaway hockey last year, a lot of it at least. That is when your franchise goalie steps up and saves the day. It just didn’t happen with him.
I just don’t have that many memories of him just closing the door. I am not talking about single spectacular saves. He has had a few of those. I am talking about games where we got royally outshot/outplayed, yet he won the game for us. I can’t recall too many from him. If he is going to get paid like that, shouldn’t he have some by now?
You seriously think that Miller is as valuable to the Sabres as Kari Lehtonen? Less valuable than Manny Fernandez? Worth half to a third as much as Miikka Kiprusoff despite putting up the same numbers? Half as much as Nikolai Khabibulin, whose team found him so valuable that they signed the biggest free agent goaltender?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Miller the only player who showed up against Ottawa in the ECF last year? What about those 2-1 games against the Rangers? That save against Satan that saved Game 5 against the Islanders?
Consider who the Sabres let walk away in the past 13 months. If they thought he wasn’t worth a franchise goalie contract, they would have offered something smaller Miller would have rejected and trade him or let him walk.
I trust their judgment on this issue.
Good job.
He was so valuable to the Sabres that, on his will alone, he almost guided the Sabres to the playoffs last year. Ilya Breezy, plucked off the waiver wire by Phoenix, delivered superior numbers than Miller did. He had 2.42 GAA and .921 s%.
I just don’t buy that this guy is that good. He had a nice supportive role in the ride to the semi-finals two years in a row, but without the massive goal support that Driere provided, he has been exposed as average.
Cheap fucking bastards! No wonder no one wants to sign in Buffalo..
Now with that, Ryan, please get your head out of your ass.
I’d rather have miller with this team than not have him. But spending $8 million a year on goalies seems excessive
Miller was overworked last year. I like this deal because it’s a two-way commitment from both sides.
@ SabreMark: “And you can’t possibly think that he took us to 2 conference finals. How many games do you recall him stealing? That would be none.”
I seem to remember one. It was Game 2 against Ottawa, IN Ottawa in the second round of the ‘06 playoffs.
In that game Miller STOOD ON HIS HEAD, made 43 saves, many of them point blank. The Sabres were out shot 44 – 17 in that game and they won 2-1. Do you remember that game SabreMark? Or did you miss that one?
Guess you missed it.
OK, you are right, Drew. One game. Miller is grossly underpaid!
FYI:
1.) 08-09 = $4.75M on goalies
2.) 09-10 = $7.25M on goalies
3.) 10-11 = $6.25M on goalies (Enroth, entry level)
…
Profit
N.B. Miller still signed to last year of his 3 year deal in ‘08-’09. Enroth’s salary NOT factored into 10-11.
Look does Miller, have the tendancy to let a soft goal in? Yes. Is he ever going to be a top 3 NHL goal. Probably not. Is 6.25/yr a bit high, probably. But to sit here and say that we are better off without Miller or we are getting screwed with this contract is nuts. This guy is a top 6-8 NHL goalie. He is has been twice to the ECF. While he may have not “carried us” he wasnt along for the ride.
The bottom line is the Sabres locked up thier franchise goalie for five more years and they paid him like a franchise goalie.
Which is exactly what Ryan Miller is. He IS a franchise goalie.
They don’t grow on trees.
lalime salary is what? BTW what did paille get?
drew, is osgood a franchise goalie? How about Giguere or cam ward?
$1M/year for Lalime. 900k for Paille in year one, 1.35M in year two.
Danny Paille’s deal is sweet. Key Lime Paille sweet.
Chris, how can rank him in the top 6 or 8 when he has never put up the stats to back it up? I don’t think he has ever been in the top 10 in the major statistical categories. Until that happens, it is folly to say so.
Yes, you’re right, he is a franchise goalie, since he will be getting paid like one. Khabibulin is also a franchise goalie. At least he did something that justifies his payday.
To me this quote from Ryan says a lot about Darcy as a GM:
“I was really happy with the way it went. There wasn’t that much back and forth. They made a good offer and projected what the marketplace is now going forward with the [salary] cap. It’s a fair deal for both sides.”
Darcy knew what it was going to take to get him signed and didn’t f- around. I’m so sick of hearing how he is a shitty GM.
ok…that makes more sense…I thought lalime was $2 mil per…
My wife says Paille would look better wearing the Note instead of the Slug…she will need to wait two more years I gues
Are the Buffalo Sabres the Detriot Red Wings? Were the Buffalo Sabres the Mighty Ducks? (and Giggy is a damn good goalie) Did the Sabres have home ice in Game 7 of that series? Were they healthy?
If we had won a cup, would anyone question this deal? I doubt it. Was it Miller’s fault they lost those series Personally, I dont think so. I think they lost as a team both times.
Ryan Miller is a franchise goalie that is capable of leading a team to the Cup. Could he ever “carry” that team? I dont think so.
But how many goalies can? Recent mememory – Broduer, Roy? I also love this idea that suddenly Enroth is going to show up and take this team to the Stanley Cup and as a result we could’ve let Miller walk. Please. Let’s see it.
I don’t think they had much choice as far as $$$ Miller’s getting — you know his agent, etc. would tell him to sign for same money other goalies are getting. Let’s hope now that he has a 5 year deal, that he’ll get his act together and get back to the Miller we saw the first year after the lockout. If Enroth shows he is an NHL caliber goalie and challenges Miller for the #1 spot, he can keep Miller on his toes (like Biron did) and make it interesting. BTW, when will we hear about Pominville?
I’m late to this party, but I’m glad to see SabreMark is complaining. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Dude… stop drinking Bucky’s kool-aid!!!!
Wolf, I am all happy that you had something constructive to add to the conversation. We eagerly await whatever you scribble out on that keyboard of yours.
Mark, I’m flattered that you look forward to my posts, but I have to admit… I’m surprised that you even read them since I don’t bash Darcy in them.
SabreMark, honestly, go find another fricking team, because it must be unbearable for you to be a Sabres fan.
As for the constructive part of my post, I will indeed point to Miller’s playoff performances, particularly in 06-07:
Miller 2.22 GAA .922 SV%
Lundqvist 2.07 GAA .924 SV%
Brodeur 2.44 GAA .916 SV%
That sir is far more than one game of elite level performance, that was over a span of 16 playoff games that year.
Also, with regard to shootouts, indeed, he underperformed last year. Though Nabakov, Osgood, and Biron were worse. And, in 06-07, Miller had the 5th best save percentage in shootouts (i.e. .804), ahead of Turco, Kipprosouf, Luongo, and Brodeur.
So, given that performance, given his age, given how much he had to go with personally last year in addition to the poor defensive play on the ice, I firmly believe he can and will live up to this contract.
mark, in your opinion – and i’m being dead serious – did sabres management made any good moves in the past few years? if so, what? do you attribute their success in 05-06 and 06-07 to luck, and was 07-08 more to the norm? why do you think the current management, which you seem to feel is blatantly and obviously incompetent, is allowed to remain in place?
i’m not being sarcastic. i really want to know your opinion on this. i disagree with pretty much everything you write, and i’m just curious to see how you got to this point in your thinking.
I am pretty sure Kevin paying Sabremark to post here. He’s been a boon to the comments section.
Okay SabreMark, perhaps it’s time for a new screen name because you’re obviously no longer a fan of this team. What the fuck does this team have to do, save turn back time and sign Drury and Briere, to impress you? You can’t sit and pout about the past and then piss all over what management does to demonstrate they have learned from past mistakes. Even if Miller is a “above average goalie” as you claim, do you think he would have signed for “above average goalie” money? If not then, should they have moved him at the deadline and had Lalime as the starter, or lose him in free agency next year to give you something else to bitch about? You bring this bullshit to every post on this blog, and never have anything but negativity to add. Please, do tell us what you would do if you were GM.
Am I my brothers keeper. Yes I am …….boom! Great film……….Mario VanPeebles rocks the house