By Mary Kate Wirfel
On April 29th 2021, 40 year old Anaheim Ducks goalie Ryan Miller announced that he will retire from professional hockey at the end of this NHL season which ends next week. With Anaheim missing the playoffs during this NHL shortened season it was the perfect opportunity for Miller to announce that he is retiring. Miller played only four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
Drafted in 1999 by the Buffalo Sabres, Miller went on to play over twelve seasons with the team. Miller took the Sabres to many playoff runs, but the most memorable would be the 2005-2006 season when the Sabres went all the way to the Eastern conference finals. Miller became a fan favorite among Sabre fans, soon becoming the leader in wins for a American netminder. During the 2009-2010 season, Miller received the Vezina award, as the leagues top goalie. During that season Miller was selected to be the starting goalie for the U.S. Olympic team in Vancouver. He took team USA all the way to the gold medal game only to fall short and win the silver medal as Sidney Crosby scored the game winner in overtime. With playoff runs and and silver medal, Miller also had multiple All-Star appearances to add to his resume.
Miller donated a lot of time to the city of neighbors over his 12 seasons in Buffalo. He actively participated in charitable events such as helping the kids at Roswell Park. Cancer had impacted Miller's family, which is a reason he would help the kids who were battling it. Every year the Sabres would host the catwalk for charity to help raise funds for the kids at Roswell Park. Miller has also donated money to several food banks around the Buffalo area such as Feed More Western New York.
After Miller was traded to the St. Louis Blues in 2014 he still continued to give back to the Buffalo area. Miller played one season for the Blues before being traded to Vancouver. Miller played three seasons for the Canucks before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks where he would go on to announce his retirement.
Ryan Miller will always have a special place in Buffalos heart and will go down as one of the greatest players to play for the Buffalo Sabres. The second best goalie behind Dominik Hasek, Miller is definitely a candidate for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Perhaps the Buffalo Sabres will retire his number 30. It will hang up in the rafters in Key Bank Center along side Hasek's number and the French Connection. Congratulations on an awesome NHL career Ryan Miller. As Rick Jennette would always say "It's Miller time!"
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