JJFIVEOH

1. Good. ;) 2. Of course he is, when he carries the team everybody is happy. But when things get sour, they go REALLY south. 3. Despite how he lets in goals, he still has better stats.

I didn't say he was average because he goes hot and cold. Every single player in the league goes hot and cold. In fact I have said the one strength of Miller is when he gets into a streak he does it for extended periods, not game to game like Luongo. But overall he is average. When he is bad, he's really bad for along time. He loves to use excuses to back it up until he gets hot again. Good and bad years.............. he's had one good year.

If you were in the locker room after a loss and knew your #1 goalie routinely bashed his teammates on the air........ would you be leery? Would you be scared to say something about his performance? Would you be afraid to even think of saying anything because you knew your coach and GM considers that guy to be the Golden Boy?

1) No, Miller is the golden boy to the organization because he won a Vezina and an MVP in the Olympics. Aside from that his stats are barely average. 2) Read my last post. 3) Tell me, do you think it was coincidence that Miller all of a sudden started his hot streak on the west coast where his wife lives right after Pegula said his daughter would be better in net?

Of course they did, because they bend over backwards for him just like the front office does. My point is, the way Enroth has played, would the benefit of getting a TRUE #1 center by using Miller as trade bait offset using Enroth as #1?

I agree with you. The front office is so obsessed with Miller that they will never get rid of him.

1. I agree with Ehrhoff, I wouldn't trade him unless some insane offer came through. Aside from Myers, he is our other "untouchable" with Regehr being a close second. 2. Miller CAN be an elite goaltender. It depends on his mood and his determination. But it's besides the point because his attitude is detrimental to the team. Doesn't matter how good he is or how good he can be, he brings the team down. I agree, and have said, when he is on his game he is unstoppable and he goes on hot streaks for weeks at a time. So when he heats up he is by far worth the $$$. But, can that $$$ be better used elsewhere where an elite goaltender doesn't have to be an issue? 3. I haven't looked to see who is on the market. But I think Enroth deserves a chance to play long term. There has to be a few quality veterans on the market who could be a backup or be a 'B' goaltender to Enroth's 'A'. I watched FL all year, they cannot be compared to Tor, Phi or TB. Clemmensen, Theodore and (for a short time and eventual starter Markstrom) looked pretty damn good, They didn't win the division because of them but they certainly didn't lose it. And they pushed NJ to the brink in double OT.

Just wanna get all basis covered. :flirt:

Let's be honest, I've never been a big fan of Miller. But, I have given him credit where credit is deserved. Unlike somebody like Luongo who is inconsistent from game to game, Miller is streaky for months at a time. When he's hot, he's hot for a long time. When he's cold, you can bet he'll be cold for a while. A big part of the dialogue for the last several months has been to get rid of the cancers of the "core". Miller is part of the core. Derek Roy continually get hammered because of his metrosexual party boy lifestyle which many considered to be a detriment to the locker room. Move on to Ryan Miller..... he has never been one to keep his opinions to himself. After every single game the media will ask him for his critique of the game and he won't hesitate to throw his temmates under the bus and until recently he rarely took the blame for a bad game. On the other hand, his teammates NEVER have the nads to criticize Miller for losing a game which leads me to believe that he is favored no matter what happens. He is the golden boy. How can this not be a locker room distraction? The rest of the team seems like they are more concerned about making Miller happy than they are winning a game. So my question is, why is he not chastised about his attitude and his contributions as a "core" player when guys like Vanek, Stafford, Roy and P-Ville are picked on? With a Vezina on his resume and an MVP in the olympics how is he not considered trade bait? He has to be worth something on the market not to mention ridding the team of a huge cap hit. He only has two years left which means a prospective team doesn't have to worry about a Luongo-like contract. And it has been proven that elite goaltenders do not necessarily win a Cup. (I think the Kings would have won without Quick, although it wouldn't have been so easy). Miller for some reason is considered "elite" but in actuality he really isn't. So why all this talk about ridding the team of guys like Stafford, Vanek, P-Ville, (at the time Roy), and Ehrhoff to get an elite center? Why can't Miller be thrown into the equation?

You got screwed! :P

I always thought DR deserved a chance to make a name for himself considering he was working on a leash for years. I think he has done a great job since. I think he deserves at least nother year to see how things play out. He got undeserved criticism for his past transactions. And yes, I was very unimpressed with Leino last year, but I think he can do some damage if he is used properly.

He was part of the #1 shutdown line last year. Look at his +/- compared to his goals scored. Isn't what we've been looking for is heart and determination? I'm not saying he's a $7 million player, but for what he's getting paid why get rid of him? Can you tell me he doesn't add a lot of spark to the lineup?

I have to agree. I have been relatively impressed witb DR since Pegula took over. I think he realizes there is a difference of being a one hit wonder and being a consistent contender. I don't think DR will make the mistake of giving up the future for one shot at a Cup.

Haha, I know you're being sarcastic. But I gotta say I keep hearing Gerbe's name throw around a lot. How can anybody even consider getting rid of Gerbe based on what he brings relative to his contract? Not that including him in a trade would be a decision maker, but we've got nothing to lose by keeping him.

My criticism of Miller stems from his attitude. Vanek isn't a locker room cancer who thinks he is holier than thou. I have praised Miller for his performances and also pointed out that he is statistically average. The weight hasn't been put on his shoulders? Who was left to rely on during most of the 30-40 game stretch when half the team was injured? Who played through the injuries so the team wouldn't be down yet another player? Who is put on the ice during key parts of the game? Vanek has been the go-to guy for a few years now. If he had some secondary support maybe he wouldn't be facing every oppositions #1 defensive lines. When have you ever heard P-Ville calling out a teammate? The only player on this team that has the balls to call anybody out is Miller, the only problem is he goes into a corner and pouts when he doesn't get his way. Anybody remember Miller filing a complaint because an official called him a bad name? Poor baby............ Parise doesn't call out players, neither does Kovalchuk. Hell, Kovalchuk has got to be one of the most one-dimensional players in this league who refuses to do anything besides sit at the line and wait for another chance to score. Vanek takes charge, you can't tell me he hasn't come up big in key situations. And if it means bringing in somebody who can score 40 goals, get into 40 fights, get 200 hits, instigate, is 6'6" 250#, wins 60% of faceoffs AND play goal just like everybody seems to think the Sabres can get a full roster of............ well, good luck with that. Every player in this league has their flaws, your fantasy player doesn't exist. The most successful teams build a roster to offset each players weaknesses and utilizes their strengths. Look at the highest paid forwards in this league, the highest paid forwards are the best scorers. They're not paid to hit, or scold, or fight. And the ones that do hit, scold and fight aren't paid highly because they aren't in high demand.

Incongruous!

Every Sabres fan thinks that every NHL player needs to be able to score 40 goals, get into 40 fights, get 200 hits, instigate, is 6'6" 250#, wins 60% of faceoffs AND play goal. If they can't do that then they suck and need to leave............. I'll never understand the Vanek hatred. Apparently some people don't understand the importance of role players. Vanek is one of the few Sabres who actually busts his ass every night. The reson he gets hurt so much is because by midseason like clockwork, the weight of the team is put on his back. Based on today's posts I have to wonder if some people are still drunk from last night. :rolleyes:

Would he want to come here with Miller as our goaltender? Sorry, I couldn't help myself. :P But IMO, I think we're set on D. We need to worry about scoring still.

Miller never took the blame for any loss UNTIL Pegula told the media his daughter would have been better in net. And the few times he did it since was done so reluctantly. But every single game he critiques his teammates and is never afraid to throw his teammates under the bus. If I had to put a ratio next to it, it's probably 50:1 the number of times he sticks it to his teammates vs. the amount of times he takes the blame for a loss. It's unfortunate that nobody in the locker room has the balls to turn the tables on Miller. It's funny all the criticism that has been thrown Roy's way for being a party boy and throwing toga parties, not to mention him being one of the core cancer players........... yet very few on here talk about Miller being a core cancer with his attitude towards his teammates. Sorry if that sounds like hatred, I'm simply recognizing the double standard. And to keep pace with the discussion, all of what I said could be a turn off to potential free agents IF in fact a potential free agent is using Miller as a deciding point on whether or not to sign with BFLO.

;)

I'm sure the way Miller openly criticizes his teammates while never taking any blame is very appealing to potential free agents.

You're right, it wasn't coincidence. It was the coach, not Parise. They went 3-9-2 with him in the lineup and 35-30-3 with him out of the lineup, Including that 22-3-2 run. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here ya go guys.......... you need to come up with some fresh vocabulary that word's getting stale. :lol: http://thesaurus.com/browse/ludicrous

Well, that's another discussion for another day. :P

I should have worded that better. I meant I think they are in the weakest division defensively. Of coure the Rangers being an outlier, I think Philly, Pitts, and NYI are easily scored upon especially considering they play a more wide open style of offense. I don't think it's a weak divison by far, but for a scorer I think they would have more success at scoring goals than in the other 2 divisions. 10 of the top 20 goal scorers came from that divison. Hey, if it's possible to bring him in AND keep Vanek, I'd be all over it!! But I don't want it to be at the expense of being limited for further salaries down the road leading the Sabres to be a team that relies on two or three players instead of the entire team. If it's monetarily possible I say go for it!

Fair enough. But I have to disagree about Parise facing tougher competition. For one, they were in the weakest division in the league. Second, it's pretty fair to say that opposing teams focus on Vanek's like as he has always been our #1 scorer. Third, Vanek faced probably the toughest competiton over the second half of the season because many of the Sabres were hurt so it was pretty much a given that if opposing teams spent more time shutting him down because we had no secondary scoring then he wasn't going to have a chance. When everybody was hurt the entire burden was placed on his shoulders and he had zero help from anybody. Case in point, until the Sabres started getting hurt Vanek had 17 goals in the first 32 games on pace to get 43. Either way, I don't see much of an advantage relative to all the hype. Vanek could easily produce like he did in the past if we get some decent secondary scoring and he gets more/better opportunities.