That escalated quickly.
On Sunday night, Jake Allen (33-16-3 with a 2.03 GAA and .928 save % ) and the Chicago Wolves were knocked out of the AHL playoffs by the Toronto Marlies.
On Monday morning, the Blues signed Brian Elliott to a spanking new 3-year, $7.5 million contract extension to be the #1 goalie for The Note.
By Monday afternoon, Ryan Miller was unemployed. That is, for the time being.
Repeat: Ryan Miller is now free to roam about the United States in search of a new four by six mansion.
In the end, Elliott is too good a goalie to cast aside for an aging veteran whose window is closing.
Over the past three seasons, Elliott ranks second overall with a .680 win percentage (55-24-7), while his 16 shutouts not only lead the League, but are tied for second in Blues franchise history.
Overall, Elliott has played exceptionall well in seven seasons, including gigs in with the Sens, Avs, and Blues. Elliott has created an impressive body of work for himself. He is the owner of a 116-77-23 record; 2.48 GAA and.910 save %. He has 25 shutouts in 235 career games played. Elliott is a keeper. The Blues know an excellentgoalie when they see one.
It surprises me not at all that Armstrong and the Blues have chosen to hitch their wagon to Elliott. Earlier this month, when Blues GM Doug Armstrong anointed Allen the 2014-15 back-up tender during his season ending presser, one got the sense that Miller was on his way to free agency. Elliott has more than proven his true value to the Blues. He and Jaro Halak formed a formidable 1A-1B puck stopping fortress.
Now that the blues music has stopped, Miller is the goalie without a locker stall stool to sit down on. He and his agent Mike Liut are now tasked with finding him a new gig. Pittsburgh, Anaheim, and San Jose are your club house leaders to land Miller.
Here's Miller's St. Louis swan song. April 27, 2014. Miller and the Blues ook a 1-1 tie into the third period in an elimination game. Then, the implosion began in earnest. Miller allowed four goals in the third period.
Thanks, Blues TV
It wasn't supposed to end like that for Miller and the Blues.
The record now reflects that Armstrong gambled and lost when he traded for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from the Buffalo Sabres in March, just ahead of the NHL trade deadline. As you will recall, Halak was in the Blues net when they were dumped by the LA Kings in the first round of the 2012 and 2013 playoffs. Halak was shipped to Buffalo, then later on to Washington and Long Island. Miller went the other way. The Miller-Halak trade results are now in: the Sabres got Halak, a 2015 first-round pick, power forward Chris Stewart, forward prospect William Carrier and a third-round pick in 2016 to Buffalo for Miller and Ott.
"We took a calculated gamble on bringing in Ryan and we didn't have the success we needed as an organization," Armstrong Monday afternoon.
"We gave up a lot to get Ryan and at the end of day we didn't accomplish as an organization what we needed to."
Armstrong and Ken Hitchcock wanted more veteran leadership in their room so they made the trade with Buffalo. Miller played well at first, then went an abysmal 1-5 with a 3.11 GAA in April. The Michigan State Spartan struggled mightily in round one against the defending Stanley Cup champs. His 2.70 GAA and a .897 save % was nowhere near good enough to defeat Kane & Company. To be fair, Miller wasn’t the only problem against the Blackhawks. The Blues’ defense core was softer than taffy and they were abused from a physicality and skill standpoint. Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Shattenkirk, Polak, Jackman and the rest of the Blues D were overwhelmed by the Blackhawks fore check. The red light spun behind Miller when his D-men allowed the Hawks to dominate the puck in the Blues’ zone.
Miller is now left to wear the goat horns for the St. Louis Blues. Its patently unfair for Blues fans and scribes to lay all of the blame at Miller’s skates. The Blues as a team failed. Not just Ryan Miller.
You better believe that Miller will be getting paid by his next team. Miller will turn 34 in July. He won’t get as rich as Henrik Lundqvist did when he signed his extension in October, however, Miller will be getting $6+ million for 4 seasons.
The Blues will now re-group and re-focus their attention to fortifying their D and to adding more scoring to their at-times anemic offense.
Armstrong made the right move by passing on Miller before the NHL Draft as the compensation would have jumped up considerably from a conditional third-round pick to a 2014 first-round pick. Armstrong told Blues.com that re-signing Elliott and promoting Allen from the AHL made the most amount of sense for his club's present and future.
"That would have been basically moving back a full round in the draft," Armstrong said. "We just felt at this time, it was better for us to go with Elliott and Jake Allen."
The Blues will be holding tight to their 2015 first round draft pick.
Miller will find a nice, new home.
Do you think the Penguins, Sharks, and Ducks appreciate sitting on their leather couches while watching the Eastern and Western Conference Finals respectively?
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