(Buffalo) The Buffalo Sabers will honor goaltender Ryan Miller by retiring his number 30 jersey next season.
Posted at 4:44 p.m.
The team made the announcement in a video released Friday, in which Miller can be seen being briefed on the decision while touring the Sabers arena with his wife, mother, sister and two children.
The announcement coincided with Miller’s trip to Buffalo, where he took part in a press conference to discuss his induction into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, which will take place later this year.
Selected in the fifth round of the 1999 draft, Miller came to the NHL in 2002-03 and spent his first 11 years with the Sabres. He set team records for most wins (284) and games played (540). He announced his retirement after the 2020-21 season and is the American goaltender with the most wins (391) in the NHL.
A native of East Lansing, Mich., Miller’s career also included stops with the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, with whom he played his last four years.
Miller became a star when he guided the Sabers to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances, in 2006 and 2007. The Buffalo squad, however, lost twice.
His best season came in 2009-10, when Miller won the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top goaltender, and he was named the most valuable player at the Vancouver Olympics, where he helped the United States. to win the silver medal.
Although he now resides in Southern California, Miller considers the city of Buffalo to be where he grew up as a player and as a person.
The 41-year-old Miller will become the second goaltender in Sabers history to have his number retired by the team, after Dominik Hasek. Miller wore number 39 in honor of Hasek during his time in college hockey before settling on number 30 when he turned pro.
His 391 victories place him 14e rank in NHL history and has two more wins than Hasek.
The Sabers will decide the date of Miller’s jersey retirement when the NHL schedule is released.