Ryan Miller bolstering trade value, Olympic candidacy with strong start
If there has been a silver lining in this dreary season for the Buffalo Sabres, it has been Ryan Miller. The former Vezina Trophy winner is having a rather remarkable year between the pipes, which has kept the Sabres in a lot of games they probably wouldn’t have been otherwise. Perhaps more importantly, however, is Miller’s play has kept his trade value relatively high, which can only further aid the Sabres’ rebuild.
Miller is also playing for his next contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent after this season and odds are he will hit the open market. That obviously will impact his trade value in a more negative fashion that his play, but the veteran goaltender should still be sought after as the season progresses. It’s not often you can add a former Vezina winner in the middle of a season.
That said, the trade market for goaltenders is often much different from position players. As Sean McIndoe recently broke down over at Grantland.com, goalies have brought in varying returns, often not incredible hauls.
The trades of Semyon Varlamov to Colorado and more recently Jonathan Bernier to Toronto and Cory Schneider to New Jersey are examples of fairly large returns for goaltenders, though none were really blockbuster hauls.
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24204119/ryan-miller-bolstering-trade-value-us-olympic-candidacy-with-strong-start