disclaimer: im a ryan miller fan and i feel he has elite talent and skills. what im about to suggest is merely a theory and nothing more. if you wish to disagree, do so under the knowledge that i am just merely making a suggestion, and i myself am not sure if even i agree with this theory. just putting it out there.

ryan miller will be 31 going into next year. no longer a spring pup, 31 isnt exactly old, either. but i was looking at another goaltender, just 3 years older, and his untimely and unfortunate demise from the ranks of the a former borderline elite goaltender.

JS giguere has nothing to be ashamed of. he took a mediocre anahiem team to the brink of a stanley cup in 2003, and of course, won the stanley cup as a 30 year in 2007. his numbers are comparable to millers, though their styles differ greatly, but their successes, in terms of statistics, are nearly mirror images. at 33, his career is on a steep decline, and unlikely to replicate that success.

at 30, miller is still a top notch starting goaltender, winning a vezina trophy for a spectacular season at the age of 29. however, statistically, that year was the exception to the rule, while numbers wise, this season appears to more the norm. is the product of the team in front of him, his skills, both? what is it? ive heard suggestions of a knee injury as well.

heres mikes observation. from last year to this year, he hasnt slowed, or his reflexes slowed. he appears to be less sharp, and he appears to over commit, perhaps a result of not being able to get an edge down when sliding across due to a knee injury that hes playing through.

could it be this is a normal year for him? what could it be? could he be indeed heading towards a decline such as JS giguere? or is he in for a long, fruitful career, like roy, hasek, and brodeur?

again, im merely making conversation, and i do feel that while hes nearing 31 and some skills will decline and potentially are, he seems to have the intelligence to be able to reprogram certain aspects of his game to make up for it.

what say you?

and if anyone wants to come in, and start a flame war, save yourself the trouble and dont say anything at all.

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He's not in his prime anymore, that's for sure.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Meh, is it normal for goalies to have an "off" year after winning the vezina? I'm not going to call his career any which way yet. He's definitely our best option.

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.

i completely agree, im just thinking and creating discussion.

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Goalies don't need to be 30 or younger to stay at the top of their game. Lots of goalies have had their best years from 30-35 or so. I'm not worried about Miller "losing it", I think he'll remain one of the most talented for at least a few more seasons.

However, from 06-09, he was routinely left to make one miraculous save after another while the team either played too wide open or just plain stunk defensively. The goals he gave up were usually of the little-to-no chance variety. Last season the team played great defensively as a team, and Miller was always in position. This year the team has played worse defensively, but not as bad as from 06-09. The main problem is not poor team defense, but routine individual lapses (mostly Myers and Sekera). The goals Miller has allowed are not of the no-chance variety, but routinely (as you said) being out of position. His hallmark used to be his positioning. He still is very good at it mostly, but at various times this season he horribly over-commits and leaves a wide open net when the shot doesn't come as he expected. Some goals allowed have me wondering why he, or his mind, was taking a nature walk for that moment in the game.

I'm a huge Miller fan, a few years back I was calling for this team to be built around him. Perhaps I'm a little harder on him because of how good I know or think he can be, but this season has been a little less than solid with a few real head scratching moments. This season I can't blame it mostly on the piss poor team defense though, and Myers' and Sekera's blunders are not enough to account for his lesser stats.

I think that his skillset makes people overrate him at times. I've always felt that in terms of goalie skills he is elite below the waist, simply moderately above average above the waist, has elite preparation and play reading abilities, and below average puck handling abilities.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I think he had a rough start to the season (the whole team did) and missed some time due to injury... I think he can still be very productive for a number of years, BUT I think the days of playing so much have to stop... Enroth needs to be up full time next year and needs to be used much more than back ups in buffalo have been used... and you need to strengthen the team around Miller...

Im very curious to see Miller next year, hopefully, with some solid additions (Lilles? anyone? would it hurt to have Miller's bestie here?), with some rehab, if injured, and leaning more on the toll booth...

so my thoughts...

1. Lean more on Enroth... and DON'T trade the toll booth any time soon!
2. Build the team around him...
3. Win a cup... lol

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It's probably the injury.

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I tend to agree... BUT he could use some help around him and he could use a lil more time off... and I hope all three will be corrected for next season....

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Forgot to mention in my first post my concern about him playing through injury. Next season with Enroth around, there should be a 57-25 split in starts and that should help Miller, and the goalie situation in general, a great deal.

i think we will see miller play the same way for the next few years before the drop off that will happen, finally does happen.

im highly doubtful of another season like last, but i do feel he could hit the .920 barrier again, which, IMO, is the benchmark for an elite goaltender.

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I feel that Miller's game has been hurt by the organization wanting him to be a 70 game per season guy. He's not built for that.

Hopefully Lindy can properly manage his goalies for a change next year and mitigate that. The team , and Miller, would be better off for it.

I can definitely agree with that. Sending Miller past ten straight games played is spiraling towards disaster. Getting rest every 3-6 is probably ideal.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

He's wanted to be the Brodeur style goalie, but Marty has him by like 30 pounds. Miller's not built for that kind of workload, and that's totally ok.

This year is a snowball effect. Miller played about 2 million games last year, which took it's toll physically, leading to his hip injury this year. While he was out, Lalime licked donkey testicles, putting the team in a hole. Lindy then felt compelled to ride Miller hard to catch up (along with not trusting Lalime), which helped get them back into the playoffs, but isn't giving Miller proper rest.

There's a part of me that would like to see them miss to give Miller a full offseason, but that's just silly. They're out in 6 games no matter who they play in the postseason anyway.

are you sure about that? Because this seems very knee jerk.


And if I said it once, I've said it 1,000 times. Starting a goalie in back to back games is fucking retarded. You need at least 24 hours to recover physically and mentally. I don't like it when Ruff does that, and I think sooner or later fatigue is goign to lead to an injured goalie.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

im as much anti-miller as you are pro-pens.

wanna open that can of worms?

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completely agree. and i do feel he has a bad knee/hip which prevents him from aggressively exiting his pad down post to post slide. his recovery between shots also seems slower, which could be because of an injury.

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If you look at the goalies who are considered "top 10" in the NHL, they've all had pretty disappointing seasons at some point. Luongo, Lundqvist, Brodeur, Kiprusoff, etc. etc. I think it's too soon to write off last season as an "anomaly" as some have said, or to think that his age might be playing a factor.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

i think thats true, but i dont feel lundqvist should be in this discussion, IMO.

however, in millers rookie year, remember, he was putting up a save percentage in the .920s till march, when the team decided to play offense first (or he just got burned out, kinda)

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I know, I'm just giving my opinion on it.

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.