Ryan Miller obviously isn’t the only goaltender on the market this year, and as usual the amount and quality of players available affects the demand. When looking at what the Sabres should be expecting for Ryan Miller, one should look towards the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks have been trying to trade a goaltender for a year now, whether it be Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider. They obviously haven’t had much success so far, but here are a few trade scenarios from Vancouver that could potentially affect the Sabres ability to move their own goaltender.
First of all, the fact that there is little interest on the market for Roberto Luongo is a good sign for the Sabres. Luongo would be one of the Sabres greatest threats to not be the only big name in town when it comes to a goaltender that’s trying to be moved. That still leaves a team like the New York Islanders open for Miller, or at least means there’s theoretically one less team who wants to acquire that goalie will get a goalie.
That being said, it would not be beneficial to Buffalo if the Canucks decide that they want to buyout Luongo. Then Luongo becomes a free agent and becomes much more intriguing. What makes Luongo so hard to move is his huge cap hit and incredibly long contract. You take that away, and of course teams will be more interested in a free agent (who they won’t have to give anything up to get) who arguably is just as good as Ryan Miller.
The most recent rumor is that the Canucks are now putting Schneider on the block due to the lack of interest for Luongo. This certainly has its upsides and downsides. If Schneider is moved, that assures that Luongo will stay and not be bought out. That’s good, there won’t be a solid starting goaltender on the free agency market. However if Schneider is traded that’s one less team who needs a goaltender. Its about taking the lesser of two evils.
Edmonton is the team tied to Schneider right now, and to be realistic it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Edmonton was one of Miller’s eight teams he wouldn’t accept a trade to. Edmonton hasn’t really been discussed at all as a potential landing spot for Miller, so if they land Schneider that could work in the Sabres favor and put more pressure on the Flyers and Islanders.
Trading Ryan Miller is all about getting the biggest bang for your buck. If things work out perfectly, the Sabres should be getting more in return simply due to demand and teams having a lack of other options. As always, its great to be the only game in town.