I didn't get to see the Ryan Miller post game interview with Duffer and Roby in real time because I was already in the Buffalo locker room after the 2-1 shootout win over the NY Islanders. After the game, I poured a couple of glasses of Cabernet/Merlot/Shiraz and I watched the interview not once, but twice. I wanted to capture his true essence and meaning. I'm glad that I did.
Miller had just become the 62nd goaltender in NHL history to play 500 NHL games. He is the 20th goaltender in NHL history to play at least 500 games with one team and the 12th to play his first 500 with the same team.
Miller was brilliant in his post game interview. He was introspective, smart, candid, and real.
He spoke from the heart. No cliches. No jargon. No hyperbole. Just real emotion.
He thanked the fans. They thanked him several times during his 500th career game in a Sabres sweater. They loved him. He loved them right back. It was poignant.
"Sometimes you just have to go to church", Miller told Brian Duff.
Take a look and listen at Miller's words to live by.
Thanks, sabres.com
Vezina goalies have their own church. Players have their own church. Fans and media have their own church. Its that place that we can go to collect our thoughts and to get our heads in the right space.
Last Friday night, Miller appeared to have lost his religion when he allowed the fans get into his head and to rattle him to distraction after he had allowed four goals to the Montreal Canadiens before he was given the heave-ho from the must-win game.
On Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, and then again in Buffalo on Friday night, Miller went to church.
In his post game presser in the room with the full media crush in his face, Miller bared even more of his soul when he commented on the loss of teammates like Jocehn Hecht, Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold, and Jason Pominville:
"Everything comes to an end. It’s not always clean and easy. Most of the time, it’s a little bit dirty and not any fun. It was hard to watch these guys kind of leave a team one by one, but it’s the nature of sports, nature of life. You can’t just hold on to something that’s not sustainable. Everything becomes stagnant if you’re always trying to hold on to one thing"
He continued:
"You have to keep searching. You have to keep talking to people, meeting people, living life. That’s when things happen for you. That’s when things like winning a championship can happen is when you accept that you can’t just hold on. You have to let go a little bit.
After the game, I observed Pat Kaleta sitting in Jhonas Enroth's stall next to Miller's after the game, talking with his former road room mate about life and the game. Odd. I've never seen Patty do that before. Then I thought back to the long, deliberate salute that Miller gave to the fans after the same was over. A victory lap of sorts. Miller said afterwards that he was just trying to soak it all in. His 500th game, the topsy turvy season, the fans, his critics, the shootout. His future.
Amen, brother.
Peace be with you in your journey, wherever the long and winding road may lead you away from Buffalo.
Losing sucks. I hate it. You hate it. The players hate it.
Steve Ott hates it with a passion.
I'm thankful for the time I've gotten to spend talking about such things as bonding, success, strategy and leadership with Ott.
There were nights, after brutal losses like the Winnipeg loss before Lindy Ruff was fired, and the Montreal debacle last week, that I thought Otter would not talk to me about the game. Boy, was I wrong. He stood tall in the pocket, looked me in the eye, and explained in a calm, passionate manner what had gone wrong and what needed to be done to correct the mistakes from happening again. Never pointed the finger of blame. Never chucked a team mate under the bus. Ott is the heart beat and pulse of the Buffalo room. If you want the time and temperature, you go straight to his stall because he doesn't sugar coat it and he never beats around the bush. Thats why I have mad respect for Ott as a man, and as a player.
On Friday night, I could see that he was down after the 2-1 shootout win. He still made time to reflect and to craft a positive from the negatives that contributed to the abrupt end to the abbreviated season.
Thanks, sabres.com
I've learned a lot about the game of hockey this season from talking with Ott. Seriously. I told him so Friday night. The guy gets it.
I've encountered many NHL hockey players over the years. Some get it, some don't. I tell you, hand to God, Steve Ott is the most intense competitor/leader that I have met in Buffalo since Pat Lafontaine called The Aud his home.
I value the time that he and I have spent talking. It sucks that this season is over.
I'm going to miss Ott's snarl, his sense of humor and his piercing blue eyes that always look you in your eyes when he speaks to you.
“We threw a lot of games away throughout the year. You beat on yourself for the games you give away and points here and there, but that’s the valuable experience we get from losing; you have to lose to continue to get better, and that’s something that all these young guys here we have that sour taste in our mouths and obviously it’s not where we wanted to be, but we finished the season off strong riding it all the way through and there is a lot to be said about that.”
He told me that he'd glady accept an invitation to play for Lindy Ruff and Team Canada to play at the World Championships in Sweden. However, he doesn't think he'll get the call to play like he did three years ago. Otter is going to rest, relax and re-group. He plans on coming back to Buffalo bigger and stronger later this summer.
Jochen Hecht announced his retirement from the NHL after after Friday night's loss.
Hecht, his wife, kids and friends were seen in the Sabres locker room after game collecting autographs from the players and clicking photos for their scrapbooks.
It was a very emotional experience, one that caused Hecht to well up and cry.
Thanks, sabres.com
Hecht will be moving his family back to his native Germany to continue his professional hockey career in Mannheim.
Thanks for all of the memories, back handers, and odd angle shots Jochen.
Join the Discussion:
»