Buffalo Trades Miller and Ott To Blues
The Buffalo Sabres traded Ryan Miller their star goalie and Steve Ott their captain to the St. Louis Blues late Friday shocking both fans and players in Buffalo.
Both players said they looked forward to the new challenge ahead of them in St. Louis and living up to the expectations of the Blues organization and their fans.
Ott and Miller have moved from the worst team in the NHL to a solid contender for the Stanley Cup in a deal on Friday night that included five players and two draft picks.
Miller was noticeably emotional at a press conference during the intermission of the first period in Buffalo’s 4-2 win over San Jose. Miller played in Buffalo for 12 seasons and said it was his home.
The deal took place an hour prior to the game and it is the first big move Tim Murray has made since taking over as the general manager of Buffalo in January.
The Sabres, in exchange for Ott and Miller, acquired Jaroslav Halak a goalie, Chris Stewart a forward, William Carrier an upcoming prospect and a first round pick in 2015 and a conditional third round pick in 2016.
The Blues welcomed the move following their loss on Friday 1-0 to the Anaheim Ducks the NHL league leaders.
The Blues have 84 points and are tied for the second best point total in the league behind the Ducks, but the deal shows that St. Louis is not content any longer with success in the regular season and early exits in the playoffs.
David Backes the captain for St. Louis said Miller was a great goalie. The two were teammates on the U.S. national team. Backes said Ott’s experience and grit was something the Blues needed during the playoffs.
The move shored up the goaltending for St. Louis as they attempt to avoid another disappointing run in the playoffs such as two straight seasons being eliminated early by the Los Angeles Kings.
Ott and Miller are expected to join St. Louis in Phoenix on Saturday prior to the team’s game on Sunday versus the Coyotes. On Friday, Halak showed up of the Blues’ game against Anaheim expecting to be the starting goalie, but left prior to his teammates dressing.
Buffalo felt Miller was expendable as he was playing in his last year of a contract and team executives thought he would not have interest in signing a new contract with a club in the early stages of rebuilding.
For St. Louis, the deal is based on the present. Worrying about the future, said team executives would be during the offseason. They feel picking up Miller gives them a much better opportunity for the postseason.
In 2010, Miller was the Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL, the same year he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Vancouver Olympics hockey tournament. He had 284 wins in 540 games, which leads the Buffalo franchise.
The Blues inquired about obtaining Miller prior to the Sochi Olympics and continued their talks with the Sabres during the two week break in the NHL.
