There aren’t many NHL teams in the market for a No. 1 goaltender, but the Vancouver Canucks apparently feel they could make an upgrade between the pipes.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported Sunday night that unrestricted free agent goaltender Ryan Miller was in Vancouver “being wooed” by the Canucks. The Canucks already have a pair of goaltenders under contract, as they have Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom on the roster.
Miller has a pretty strong connection to new Vancouver general manager Jim Benning, though. Benning discovered Miller when the GM was working as a scout for the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted Miller in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL draft. All Miller did after that was develop into an elite goalie who won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 2010.
The 33-year-old is coming off an interesting season. Miller finally was freed from Buffalo when a midseason trade sent him to the St. Louis Blues. Miller finished the season with just a 25-30-4 record, but he did post a respectable .918 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average. He struggled in the playoffs, however. Miller and the Blues were eliminated in the first round by the Chicago Blackhawks as Miller registered a 2.70 GAA and .897 save percentage.
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