Random Thoughts: Ryan Miller is on a roll..Long sheet of ice..Drawback on Miller winning gold..and more

–Even though Olympians are having problems scoring on Ryan Miller, he’s doing his own scoring off the ice. Life & Style Magazine (Eh, the thought of that magazine showing up on my blog makes me queasy) is reporting that Miller has been hooking up with actress Noureen DeWulf.

Yes, I had absolutely no clue who the girl was, but after doing a google search, she now resides on my desktop wall paper.

Noureen was noted for being in movies like “The Goods” and “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.” She’s been dating Miller since May and even made a trip to Vancouver to see him play against Team Canada. A-HA! That’s why Miller played his greatest game ever. It had nothing to do with him playing for America’s pride. He wanted to show off in front of his girlfriend!? I kid, I kid. However, if Miller does struggle upon his return to Buffalo, it would behoove the Sabres to fly the actress out for a little moral support. That concludes the US Weekly portion of my blog–

–Members of the Media have been speaking highly about Olympic hockey. However, the one thing they’ve gotten wrong is saying that NHL games don’t need a wider ice. That’s just silly. Of course, I know that a wider ice will never happen because it would cost owners money in cutting out seats. However, people are forgetting what they saw in 2006 and 2002. Prior to these games, you could always set your clock to fans wanting the NHL to go to a wider ice after watching Olympic Hockey.

There’s a reason why this tournament has been good, it has everything to do with the quality of players. Those all-stars could skate in a kiddie pool covered in snow and that would make for a much better hockey game than watching the Devils vs Sabres. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the NHL play on Olympic ice. There’s still too much clutching and grabbing for my taste. Unless the NHL decides to contract 10 teams to maximize the talent pool, you’re not going to see that type of hockey in the NHL–

–I don’t know about you, but after reflecting on Miller’s amazing game against Canada, I started thinking about the Sabres…Sabres management to be precise. I’ve made no bones about the Sabres front office making too many excuses in not wanting to make a major trade. They always use the “Martin Hossa didn’t guide the Penguins to the cup” as an excuse for not making a deadline deal. The organization loves using examples of other teams in order to justify not bettering their team.

Now, if Miller does win gold or guides Team USA deep into the medal rounds, be sure to set your watch to Larry Quinn or Darcy Regier saying the following: “We don’t need to make a trade because you saw what Ryan Miller did in the Olympics.” Bingo. Look, after watching Miller play against Canada, he can definitely steal a series or two. However, you can’t ignore the fact that he’s playing with some great American players.

Sorry, but I think Chris Drury on the 4th line is a tad bit better than Matt Ellis. If anything, these games should prove that if you give Miller a little help, he can carry your team a long way. It’s going to be a BIG comedown for fans if team USA wins the gold and just 5 days later the trade deadline passes with no movement by the Sabres–

–As for the thinking that Olympic hockey will add a bump in the popularity of the NHL. Don’t hold your breath. The American public is a very savoy group who suffer from A.D.D. Sure, if the USA wins gold, Americans will be talking about it for a week or so. But then you’ll have March Madness starting. Then you’ll have Opening day for MLB. Then you’ll have Tiger Woods coming to the Masters. Then you’ll have the NFL Draft. The list goes on and on.

There’s just too many options that the American public has at their disposal. Will it help Ryan Miller get an endorsement or two? Sure. But fans aren’t going to be running to the ticket counter in Nashville to buy season tickets to Predators games. If anything, it will add more viewers to watch Olympic hockey in 2014. That’s if the Pros go over to Russia–