It’s Miller Time in Buffalo

July 18, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Rick Jeanneret will continue to be able to excitedly scream, “Mill-eeeeeee-rrrrrr!!!!!!”

Perhaps our Sabre blogger jumped the gun a bit on his latest entry. Or maybe Larry Quinn or Darcy Regier read it.

According to TSN, the Sabres have reached agreement with goalie Ryan Miller on a five-year contract extension worth a reported $31.25 million. The 28 year-old who Buffalo stole in the fifth round back in the 1999 NHL Draft went 36-27-10 with a 2.64 GAA and .906 save percentage plus three shutouts in 76 games in 2007-08.

Over the past three seasons, Miller’s won 106 games while dropping only 57 in regulation with another 19 OT/SO losses. He was entering the final year of his contract and would’ve been eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. So, it was essential that the Sabres organization got this done or they possibly could’ve lost another big piece.

You had to figure the East Lansing, Michigan native’s hometown team the Red Wings would’ve been involved. That will now be prevented and restore their fans’ trust moving forward.

There’s still some work to be done upstate with leading setup man Jason Pominville. At least for once, Buffalo kept one of its star players.

Did Brian Sanborn have something to do with it? Inquiring minds want to know.