Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula reiterated on Thursady night that he wants his veteran starting goaltender
Ryan Miller to stay with his Sabres after this season. The outspoken owner also said that he likes what he is seeing from his young team, his head coach and GM.
Pegula spoke with John Wawrow of the Associated Press on Thursday. When he was asked about the future of Ryan Miller with the Sabres, Pegula reiterated his desire to re-sign Miller, before his contract expires on July 1, 2014.
"Maybe you should ask Ryan that," Pegula said, when asked what the chances were of the goalie remaining in Buffalo.
"I don't know. We'll see. We obviously would like to see Ryan back," Pegula said, before pausing to correct himself. "Instead of saying 'wanting him back,' I should say, 'staying with us.'"
Four months ago, Pegula said on a buffalo radio show that it was his intention to have Miller re-sign with the Sabres. Pegula, the natural gas baron, knows that he cannot frack into the soil in Western New York in order to tap a well that will yield another starting goaltender of Miller's pedigree. Regula knows when you have good players, you hold onto them. The 33 year old starter has been encouraged by the play of his team in the first six exhibition games of this preseason. On Sunday night in Toronto, Miller roared out of his net to engage Leafs goalie Jonathon Bernier in his first ever NHL goalie fight. Miller reported to Sabres training camp with a positive attitude and an open mind. he and fellow Sabres UFAs-to-be Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott have also been impressed by the attention to detail, the structure and positive culture of Ron Rolston's training camp.
Miller is currently earning $6.25 million for this, his final season of his contract.
NY Rangers starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist is also playing out the last year of his current contract. his extension will make Crawford's deal look a value contract. Lundqvist is said to be seeking $7.5-$8 million per season for 6-7 seasons.
The Chicago Blackhawks signed their starting goalie Corey Crawford to a $36 million extension in August
Is Pegula willing to commit to a new six year, $6 million contract for the 33 year old Miller?
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Pegula likes what he sees of the early stages of the Buffalo Sabres youth movement. Pegula has been in Buffalo and he's been around rechisently renovated team. He says that that he sense positive vibes from the players.
"I can't predict how the season's going to go," Pegula told The Associated Press on Thursday. "But I know that the guys in the locker room are pretty upbeat."
Pegula knows that winning a Stanley Cup isn't easy. Its a marathon, not a 100 meter sprint.
When he purchased the team from Tom Golisano in 2011, Pegula immediately proclaimed that his Sabres would be committed to winning multiple Stanley Cups under his ownership. Lofty goals indeed. The team has failed to make the playoffs the past two seasons and Pegula has since learned to manage the expectations of the die hard Buffalo fans.
"You can't set a timetable for contending for a Stanley Cup. One team wins it every year," Pegula said. "We're not going to give up, let's put it that way."
For the past seven months, Pegula and his management group have been immersed in two full-scale building projects. Pegula is creating from the shovel in the dirt, to the ground up, a brand new, beautiful HarborCENTER complex across the street from First Niagara Center. It will house a hotel and state-of-the-art ice and rink complex when its completed in 2015. Simultaneously, Sabres GM Darcy Regier has performed an extreme makeover on the Buffalo roster by trading away high priced veteran performers like captain Jason Pominville, Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold, and Andrej Sekera. The aging vets were part of the core that couldn't get the Sabres to qualify for the playoffs, so they were traded away and replaced by uber talented kids Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko, Joel Armia, Johan Larsson, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nikita Zadorov. The kids have played like men in the preseason and several of them will be in the Buffalo lineup for the season opener in Detroit next Wednesday night.
Pegula told the AP that he has confidence in Darcy Regier and Ron Rolston.
"They're doing a heck of a job with the organization and the team," Pegula said. "The optimism is there for sure. I don't think those guys even read what's being said about them. They're pretty dedicated.
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