Welcome to the Hotstove! As always, I'm your host, Travis Yost.

Although they're not headed to the post-season, the Buffalo Sabres are becoming an interesting watch. The club made a few firesale deals at the trade deadline, shipping off veterans Robyn Regehr, Jason Pominville, and Jordan Leopold. The idea is that the club is beginning to shift into a rebuilding phase, one that could brighten the future of an organization that hasn't seen a playoff series since 2007.

There was a bit of speculation that the moves would again pick-up in the summer, with Buffalo looking to package away more veteran players in favor of building through the draft. One name that's been floated over the past couple of months is G Ryan Miller: a talented shot-stopper that's seen his numbers dip a bit in the past couple of years.

Jerry Sullivan at the Buffalo News had an interesting op-ed on this, suggesting that Miller's time was coming to an end. The argument in support goes something like this:

Now, the time has come for Ryan Miller to move on. In fact, if the Sabres were a forward-thinking organization, Miller would have been gone by now. But after Friday night’s debacle at First Niagara Center, it’s hard to imagine Miller coming back to Buffalo next season.

It’s no revelation to suggest that Miller won’t be here next season. He has one year left on his contract. There’s virtually no chance the Sabres will offer him a lucrative extension. What use does a mediocre, rebuilding team have for a $6 million goaltender?

But Miller’s departure seems like a foregone conclusion after Friday night’s humiliating home-ice meltdown against the Rangers.

When Miller waved sarcastically to the jeering crowd, he might as well have been waving farewell to Buffalo. It was a sad moment, the ugly culmination of a hockey season that began with high promise but quickly collapsed into public disappointment and disgust.

It's not particularly clear whether Buffalo is actively shopping Miller, but one has to wonder -- considering the circumstances -- whether the team will move him if the right price is reached.

The Q: Should Buffalo move Ryan Miller? If so, what team would be the most likely landing spot for the East Lansing native?

poll by twiigs.com

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