Should recently-retired Ryan Miller have his jersey retired by the Buffalo Sabres?
The old saying goes that there is no crying in baseball. Well, there definitely is crying in hockey. If you don’t believe me, just look at Ryan Miller embrace his parents after his final NHL game this past weekend. Someone must have definitely been chopping onions in those stands.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Miller retires as the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history. His best seasons and most of his career was spent on the Buffalo Sabres. Tenures after leaving Buffalo with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and, finally, the Anaheim Ducks were shorter and with less success.
Miller was the Sabres’ best player since Dominik Hasek, well before they got Jack Eichel at least. More than anything, he’ll be remembered for his accomplishments in Western New York. Should the Sabres retire Miller’s number? Well there’s few arguments both for, and against, giving Miller hockey immortality in the form of a jersey raised to the rafters.
Is Ryan Miller worthy of having his jersey retired by the Buffalo Sabres?
He Left The Sabres
It is true that Ryan Miller wasn’t a lifelong Sabre. Then again, he didn’t leave by his own choice. With the team well out of Playoff contention and with a year remaining on his contract, Miller was traded during the 2013-2014 season to the St. Louis Blues. Fans were sad to see him go.
Even Miller himself was sad to leave. Then again, it was a move everyone in the hockey world saw coming. The Sabres were in need of a rebuild. By the time Miller packed his suitcase for St. Louis, Buffalo fans were already looking forward to either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel (spoiler alert: they got Eichel).
He Never Won A Stanley Cup With the Sabres
It’s become an unofficial, de facto rule that to have your number retired you have to have won a Stanley Cup championship with a team. Of course, there’s a lot of exceptions to this rule, but having your name engraved on that shiny silver cup does help in the selection of whose jersey gets retired.
I don’t necessarily mind the rule, as it keep the club of retired jerseys exclusive. More teams should unofficially “follow” it so they don’t do something stupid like raise a banner for being regular season Western Conference champions (here’s looking at you, Nashville Predators).
Well, Miller never won a Stanley Cup with the Sabres. Then again, neither did Hasek. That didn’t stop the Sabres from retiring Hasek’s number. Hasek even left the Sabres in a trade just like Miller. You can argue that at least Hasek led the Sabres to a Stanley Cup Final. You can even argue they were a Brett Hull foot in the crease from winning it all.
Miller may not have led the team to the Stanley Cup Final, but he did win the Vezina Trophy and the President’s Trophy with the Sabres. Let’s not pretend there weren’t a few impressive accomplishments in there.
It Will Fill The Seats
Okay let’s face it. The Buffalo Sabres and their fans didn’t have much to look forward to this year. Even if they win the Draft lottery, there’s not going to be a lot to look forward to next year either. This reason falls under the category “hockey is a money making business”, but retiring Ryan Miller’s number would generate excitement among fans and give them a reason to come to games.
Of course, there’s the game where his jersey actually gets retired, which is sure to be a sellout. The Sabres could have other promotions throughout the season tied to the jersey retirement to really get as much as they can out of this. The Pegulas would love the extra revenue. For Buffalo Sabres fans, it might be the most exciting thing to happen all of next season and it would be a fitting tribute to a player in Ryan Miller who deserves such recognition.