The Vancouver Canucks are a team is flux right now. New GM Jim Benning and new team president Trevor Linden hired their new head coach on Monday. Willie Desjardins is a first year NHL head coach. Benning, Linden, and Desjardins will their work cut out for themselves re-tooling the Canucks on the fly.
No pressure.
Ryan Kesler wants out. The club has very few organizational prospects ready to compete for NHL jobs. Several veterans are getting older and are carrying fat contracts with no movement clauses attached to them.
Benning can give his team a positive shot in the arm by upgrading his goaltending position.
You show me a great goalie, and I'll show you a great coach.
Vancouver's two goalies are young, green and largely inexperienced in the NHL.
That's why Benning reached out to Ryan Miller on Wednesday.
#Canucks did make contact with Ryan Miller's agent today to see if the UFA goalie would be interested in playing for VAN. @CTVVancouver
— Kelcey Brade (@ctv_kelcey) June 25, 2014I told you last month that Benning would be reaching out to Miller. When Benning was a scout in Buffalo, he made a strong case for Darcy Regier to draft Miller as the heir apparent to Dominik Hasek's throne in Sabreland. In 1999, Buffalo selected Miller in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft. Benning got his man. Miller paid his dues in Rochester, then exploded onto the scene after the 2006 lockout had ended. Miller led his Sabres when he led his teammates to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals.
Is Benning looking to put the band back together?
Life after Roberto Luongo means that the Canucks have to solidify their net if they plan on competing and qualifying for the playoffs in 2014-15. They missed by a mile in 2013-14. Benning and Linden want to pump the brakes and put and end to the losing in Vanouver. Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom have just 88 career regular season games played between them. Miller has played in 559 NHL games, plus playoffs.
In 59 games in Buffalo and St. Louis, Miller finished with a 25-30-4. His a .918 save % and 2.64 GAA are noteworthy. The Chicago Blackhawks made short work of Miller and the Blues by eliminating them in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. His critics blamed Miller for the Chicago loss, however, there was a lot of blame to be spread around. The record reflects that the Blues D was soft and porous and that their forwards failed to score on Corey Crawford.
Lack has two years remaining on his deal while Markstrom is entering the final year of his deal.
Miller will be UFA on July after the St. Louis Blues opted to let the Michigan State Spartan legend skate away. The Blues have re-signed Brian Elliott to a long term deal and his back-up will be Jake Allen, the best goalie in the AHL last season.
Miller is now free to roam about the U.S. and Canada in search of his next contract. The Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Pittsburgh Penguins are also options for Miller to pursue.
Miller may be willing to tailor a short term deal for higher dollars in order to make himself more attractive to his suitors. Three years at $6.5 million per season might get a deal done with the veteran tender. Miller will turn 34 years of age on July 17. He may become a Canuck on July 1.