On Thursday, the goalie had his No. 30 raised to the rafters, becoming the eighth Sabers player to receive the honor, and became the 43rd inductee into the Buffalo Sabers Hall of Fame.
“It was a great feeling,” Miller said.
He was joined on the ice by his wife, Noureen DeWulf; son Bodhi, 7; daughter Kaia, 9 months; parents Dean and Teresa; brothers Drew and Bryce; and sister Brynn. “I’m glad my family could be there. The kids were there. Bodhi’s old enough to take this all in. The family folklore can only be so many stories before you have to show the kid where it actually happened. … Kaia made it through, I’m proud of her for that. Just a small step for a baby. But just having friends and family see her and see where I’m at in life right now, Noureen and I being back here, this is a big part of our life as well. Great memories and great friendships.”
Miller was greeted by a rousing ovation from the crowd and with an iconic call of “Milllleeeeerrrrr!” from legendary Sabers broadcaster Rick Jeanneret. He was also presented with a sword by owner Terry Pegula during the ceremony prior to Buffalo’s 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders.
Miller had more than 100 friends and family members in attendance. Among them were 18 former Sabers teammates, including Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Henrik Tallinder, and former longtime equipment manager Rip Simonick.
Former Sabers goalie Dominik Hasek was featured in a video introducing Miller. Buffalo retired Hasek’s No. 39 in 2015.
“Welcome to the club,” Hasek said.
The other Buffalo players with a retired number are Gilbert Perreault (No. 11), Richard Martin (No. 7), Rene Robert (No. 14), Tim Horton (No. 2), Danny Gare (No. 18) and Pat LaFontaine (No. 16).
When he first arrived in Buffalo upon signing his first NHL contract in 2002, Miller was given a tour of the arena. He said that when he looked up to the rafters, the dream began to percolate.
“Walking in here and seeing the ‘French Connection’ [line of Perreault, Martin and Robert] and seeing Tim Horton’s number, at the time those were the only numbers up there,” he said. “And I had that little fantasy. I did. I looked out there, I was like, ‘Wow, you know, I’m signing with a pro team. We’ve got some banners up there, wouldn’t that be cool?’ And this is an amazing dream-come-true situation.”
Miller ranks first among goalies in Buffalo history in wins (284), games played (540), saves (14,847) and wins in a season (41).
He played 11 seasons with the Sabers (2002-14) and was their No. 1 goalie from 2005-06 until he was traded to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 28, 2014. Buffalo qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs four times with Miller, including reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2006 and 2007. He won the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the goalie voted the best in the League, in 2009-10 when he had an NHL career-high 41 wins, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
“He was the backbone of this team,” Vanek said. “I think with him you knew he was locked in every night, and that’s what made him the ultimate pro and the goalie he was his whole career. … For me as a player, going into every game I knew we had a chance to win because we had Ryan Miller.”
Miller was 391-289-87 with one tie in 796 NHL games (772 starts) for the Sabres, Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks.
Among United States-born NHL goalies, Miller is first in wins and second both in games played (796), behind John Vanbiesbrouck (882), and shutouts (44), behind Jonathan Quick (57).
It’s the third honor in recent months for Miller. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 9 and the US Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 30.
The current Sabers players watched the ceremony from the bench and took a photo with Miller after the game. Forward Alex Tuch grew up a fan of the team in Baldwinsville, New York, two hours east of Buffalo.
“Miller was the goalie that I got to grow up watching play,” Tuch said. “Although I wasn’t a goalie growing up, I definitely idolized him and loved watching him play. He’s an unbelievable goaltender. Once I got into town, I started hearing about how much he meant to the community and what he did and his time. with Roswell Park [Comprehensive Cancer Center] and just how good of a person he was, and that made it more special that I got to watch him grow up. To see him honored tonight, I mean, he definitely deserves it.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, “He’s been an important part of the Sabers franchise, playing 11 years, most-winning American goaltender. And it’s great to be here with him, and to be here with the fans that adore the Sabres.”
As for what he’s most proud of, Miller said, “It’s hard to pick one moment. I just loved playing with the guys and the feeling of winning a game. I thought we did it the right way and we built it together as a group.” All these guys have been saying nice things about me, but I can equally say about them how much of an impact we all had on each other.
“… I just remember the guys being really accepting, open, competitive. There were fun moments on the ice. For all the intensity that was there, there was a lot of fun in practice. I thought that was a sign of a good team, actually.”
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