Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series, Call to the Hall, where we take a look at the next great player from each NHL franchise to get called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are a few caveats, the player must be active, and must have played 300 games (or 150 for goaltenders) with the franchise.
Check out the previous Call to the Hall articles HERE.
Call to the Hall: Buffalo Sabres
Only eight players who donned the Buffalo Sabres jersey during their careers have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and it can be argued that only three of them, Gilbert Perreault, Pat LaFontaine, and Dominik Hasek (with Dale Hawerchuk certainly in the conversation), actually got in the Hall on the back of what they accomplished wearing the blue and gold (or red and black, as the era may dictate).
Among active players, the pickings are pretty slim. There’s some quality top six scorers, such as Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Tyler Ennis, and Drew Stafford, but none of those players will ever come close to the Hall of Fame conversation. There’s also defenseman Tyler Myers, who looked well on his way to a long, successful career that may have warranted Hall consideration one day, but his body of work is far too incomplete at this point. That basically leaves us with two players to consider: high-scoring winger Thomas Vanek, and all-star goaltender Ryan Miller. While the former has been a dangerous offensive weapon in the NHL for a long time, it’s the latter who is far more likely to be the next Sabre inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Ryan Miller
Miller got his start the way that most netminders do, originally playing as a forward in youth hockey until his team was in desperate need of a goalie. The kid from East Lansing, Michigan, would take to the position, and go on to a sparkling career in college.
Miller would post simply unreal numbers in three seasons guarding the crease for the Michigan State Spartans in the CCHA from 1999-2002, setting new NCAA career records for save percentage (.941) and shutouts (26) which still stand today. He would be named the CCHA goaltender of the year thrice, CCHA MVP twice, and win the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in all of college hockey in America in 2001, when he lead the nation in wins (31), goals against average (1.33), save percentage (.950) and shutouts (10). Needless to say, but the Sabres were ecstatic with the progress of their 138th overall draft pick in 1999.
Miller would turn pro the following season at the age of 22, spending the majority of the next three years as the starting goaltender of the Rochester Americans, the Sabres AHL affiliate, with the occasional cup of coffee up in Buffalo. During the 2005 NHL lockout, which many consider to be one of the most competitive AHL seasons of all time due to an influx of talent, Miller posted 41 wins, a .922 SV% and was named the league’s most outstanding goaltender.
Following the lockout, Miller established himself as the starting goaltender for the Sabres. He was fantastic during his rookie season in Buffalo, posting 30 wins in just 48 regular season games and leading the Sabres to game seven of the Eastern Conference Final, before ultimately falling to the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Thus would begin a run that saw Miller win 30+ games (and 40+ twice) for the next seven consecutive years. Despite increasing his win total to 40 in 2006-07, Miller took a step back statistically in his sophomore NHL campaign, though he very quickly turned into one of the most elite goaltenders in the entire NHL. He again lead the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Final for the second year in a row, though they would be eliminated in just five games by the Ottawa Senators.
By the end of the 2009-10 season, Miller was squarely in the competition for the best goaltender on the planet title – if not leading the race. Not to mention his performance at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver (which we’ll get to in a moment), Miller was absolutely brilliant for the Sabres. While he didn’t lead the league in any major statistical category, his total body of work, including 41 wins (4th), a .928 SV% (2nd), a 2.22 GAA (2nd) and 5 shutouts (7th) was enough to earn Miller a place on the NHL’s First All-Star Team and the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, the third Buffalo goalie (after Hasek and Tom Barrasso) to take home the award since voting began for it in the 1981-82 season. He would also finish 4th in Hart Trophy voting that year as the league’s MVP.
However, as great as that season was for Miller, it may have been an anomaly, as he settled into a save percentage and goals against average range much closer (or even below) the league average for the rest of his tenure in Buffalo. In 2013-14, his last season with the franchise, Miller had his best year since that Vezina season, posting an impressive .923 SV% in 40 games with a Buffalo squad that was dive-bombing to the bottom of the NHL standings (he lead the league in both saves and losses that season, showing just how awful the Sabres were).
Unfortunately, with that long fall came a jettisoning of talent, and Miller found his way to St. Louis, where he underwhelmed for the Blues. Before last season, he signed a three-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks, where, at 35 years old, he is likely to split starting duties as that team also goes through a tough rebuild.
Miller left Buffalo as the all-time leader in games played (540) and wins (284), while he’s second to only Hasek in save percentage and shutouts and third behind Hasek and Martin Biron in goals against average. For his career, Miller has played 604 games, recording 323 wins, a .915 SV% and a 2.59 GAA, with 35 shutouts.
Miller has only represented his country twice in international competition, but he couldn’t have asked for a more scintillating debut when he suited up for Team USA at the 2010 Olympics. In six games, Miller would allow only eight goals, leading to an incredible 1.35 GAA and .946 SV%. He would be named the best goaltender and the MVP of the tournament, but the Americans would ultimately fall one goal short, losing a heartbreaker to Team Canada in overtime of the gold medal game. He won a silver medal, but it was of little consolation to Miller, who was in the midst of the greatest season of his career.
Miller would again be named to the squad in 2014, however he would play a much reduced role, ceding the crease to Jonathan Quick and appearing in just one game, a 5-1 win over Slovakia in which he made 18 saves, as the Americans ultimately fell in the bronze medal game and finished 4th.
At this point, making the case for Miller’s inclusion in the Hall is somewhat difficult, as he’s likely to be on the fringes of the discussion for the goaltending category after he retires.
One big thing going for him is his win total, which is currently 24th in league history (and 3rd among active goaltenders behind Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist), and he has a chance of breaking the 400-win plateau before all is said and done, something only 11 other NHL goalies have accomplished so far. While some don’t put much value on wins, most NHL goaltenders will tell you there isn’t a single statistic they care more about.
His Vezina Trophy and Olympic MVP performance (and possibly the Hobey Baker as well) will go a long way with Hall voters, as will the fact that he’s been arguably one of the top five goaltenders of the post-lockout era, but a lack of a Stanley Cup (and he isn’t likely to get one in Vancouver) will seriously hurt his chances.
At this point, Hall induction seems unlikely for the workhorse who has been a great but not superstar level starter in his career so far aside from one other-worldly season. However, if he can build up his career numbers enough, and possibly add a Stanley Cup to his resume before all is said and done, Miller would certainly give many Hall voters something to think about.
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