There has been a ton of talk about what will happen to Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller. The Canucks continue to hang on to playoff hopes, and this may be slowing down the shopping of Miller, but something has to give in Vancouver. Eklund from HockeyBuzz reported that. It’s widely known that Lindy Ruff and Miller were very tight in Buffalo and the Dallas Stars aren’t a team that is going to be accepting anything shy of some playoff success. All indications are this is a deal that could get done in January.
I’m not so sure this would be the best move for the Stars. Millers stats have been a below average goaltender this year, sporting a .904 save average with a 2.96 GAA. While you could put a good amount of blame on the poor play of the Canucks, the stats don’t lie. Also, going back to the 2013-14 season when Ryan Miller was traded to the St. Louis Blues he seemed to struggle on a very well built Blues team. He ended the season with a .903 save average. With that being said, I’m not counting Miller completely out, he will be reunited with a coach and system that he is familiar with which may be the catalyst that could ignite his former self. If they could acquire Miller for a relatively cheap price or a goalie swap it may be worth a try giving the goalie struggles the Stars have had. Vancouver will be left with Jakob Markstrom taking over the starting role(Unless they can get either of Dallas’ goalies)/which the Stars would obviously have to retain some salary, or possibly the very hyped prospect Thatcher Demko.
Times continue to be difficult in Colorado – What will happen with Matt Duchene?
While he would be a great fit offensively in Buffalo I’m not sure he’s what the Sabers need. Duchene is a very skilled player but as of late has been a very streaky player and his defensive game is not the best. However, if they can get Duchene without taking anything from the immediate roster it could work well. Duchene would have the potential do very well in the fast paced north-south play of the Bylsma system.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are by far the biggest surprise of the season as we near the mid-way point. Duchene could really help solidify the Blue Jackets goal scoring capabilities and add a dynamic go to player to work along Brandon Saad. The Jackets will have to pay a very hefty price to get him and really needs to be wary about disrupting the teams current chemistry
The Montreal Canadiens make the most sense to me as a landing spot. They are a very hard team to handle when it comes to speed and Duchene would only add to that. The Canadiens are arguably the most difficult team to play against from when trailing so adding the goal support they would get from Duchene would be almost too formidable even for the best teams in the league.
I am a passionate Pittsburgh Penguins fan from Pittsburgh. I graduated from Sports Management World Wide in Hockey Management and Scouting. I interned with the Wheeling Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League in the Hockey/Business Operations Department. I currently do independent hockey scouting services, blogging and podcasts.