Blues snag Miller, Ott in trade with Sabres
Once the shock and emotions of leaving Buffalo and the Sabres began to wear off, goalie Ryan Miller began looking forward to the challenge he and Steve Ott will face in living up to the St. Louis Blues’ expectations.
Sabres no more, Miller and Ott are going from the NHL’s worst team to a bona fide Stanley Cup contender after being traded to the Central Division-leading Blues (39-13-6) in a five-player, two-draft-pick deal Friday night.
“It’s definitely humbling and flattering that they would make that kind of move and bring us in with the intention of giving them some help to push for a Stanley Cup,” Miller said.
“We’re excited for the opportunity there. But also, it’s about the responsibility we have to that organization to show up and get up to speed and compete as hard as we can to live up to the trade.”
In exchange for trading away Miller and Ott, their captain, the Sabres acquired goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 third-round pick.
The Central Division-leading Blues shored up their goaltending in an attempt to avoid another disappointing playoff run after being eliminated by Los Angeles in successive seasons.
Miller was expendable in Buffalo because the 33-year-old was in the final year of his contract and the Sabres were concerned he’d have little interest re-signing with a rebuilding team.
Miller won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2010, the year he was the most valuable player of the Olympic tournament in Vancouver, and is Buffalo’s franchise leader with 284 victories and 540 games.
This season, he’s 5-22-3 with a 2.72 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. He’s 284-18657 with a 2.60 GAA and .916 save percentage overall.
Rangers
Defenseman Dan Girardi agreed to a long-term contract extension, taking the key rightside defenseman off the trading block and keeping him away from unrestricted free agency this summer. The deal is reportedly for six years and $33 million.
Canadiens
Peter Budaj will make a third start in goal when Montreal plays host to Toronto today because Carey Price is still recovering from a lower-body injury sustained at the Sochi Olympics.