The St. Louis Blues traded for goaltender Ryan Miller yesterday along with center Steve Ott from the Buffalo Sabres. The Blues gave up forward Chris Stewart, goaltender Jaroslav Halak and a forward prospect named William Carrier.
They also sent the Buffalo their first-round selection in the 2015 NHL Draft as well as a conditional selection. If Miller re-signs with the Blues or leads the team to the final of the Western Conference, then they will receive St. Louis’ first-round selection in the 2014 draft.
The American-born Miller had a record of 15-22-3 at the time of the trade with a goals-against average of 2.72 and a 92.3 save percentage. Ott had nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points and was the Sabres captain.
The 33-year-old Miller is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent during the summer. He has played his entire career with the Sabres after being chosen with the 138th overall pick in the fifth round of the draft in 1999. He debuted for the Sabres in November of 2002.
Miller thanked all of the Sabres players and management for treating him so well over the years, and said it is an emotional way to leave after spending 12 years with the franchise. He leaves Buffalo with a career record of 284-186-57 along with a 91.6 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.60.
He also went 25-22 in the playoffs and helped the Sabres make it to the 2005-06 Eastern Conference Final. He leaves the league’s last-place team to join a contender in the West.
Miller said he’s excited to be heading to a club that has a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup this season. The 31-year-old Ott said the same thing. He joined Buffalo from the Dallas Stars two years ago and will also be an unrestricted free agent following the season.
He thanked the Sabres and said he’d miss his teammates, but is thankful to get the chance to play with a contending team. St. Louis captain David Backes admitted that he’s excited with the deal, but said the team still needs to work as hard as possible to be successful.
Backes said Miller and Ott are great players, but the Blues can’t look at them as some type of magical formula that will guarantee wins.
The Sabres receive a 28-year-old goaltender in return in Halak. He had a 24-9-4 record this season with a goals-against average of 2.23 and a save percentage of 91.7. He’s also an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The 26-year-old Stewart had 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points with the Blues in 58 games. The 19-year-old Carrier is a left winger who was selected in the 2013 draft by the Blues with the 57th overall pick.
The Sabres could wind up with three first-round selections in the 2015 draft and this could help them improve their squad quickly.
Since they have no chance at reaching the playoffs this season, there could be some more deals on the way in Buffalo before the upcoming NHL trade deadline.
