Sabres retire Ryan Miller’s number 30

The Buffalo Sabres retired the number 30 of Ryan Miller of East Lansing, Michigan on Saturday according to Heather Engel of nhl.com. Miller played 11 seasons for the Sabres from 2002 to 2014. He was initially drafted by the Sabres in the fifth round, 138th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Statistics with the Sabres

In 540 games played from 2002 to 2014, Miller had a record of 284 wins, 186 regulation losses and 57 losses in extra time. He had a goals against average of 2.60, a save percentage of .916 and 28 shutouts. While with the Sabres, he led the NHL in saves during the 2012-13 season with 1162 saves.

Vezina Trophy Winner

In 2009-10, Miller became the fifth goalie in Sabres franchise history to win the Vezina Trophy. That season Miller had a record of 41 wins, 18 regulation losses and eight losses in extra time. He had eight shutouts with a goals against average of 2.22 and a save percentage of .929.

Miller followed Don Edwards of Hamilton, Ontario (1979-80), Bob Sauve of Sainte-Genevieve, Quebec (1979-80), Tom Barrasso of Boston, Massachusetts (1983-84), and Dominik Hasek of Pardubice, Czechia (1993-94. 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, and 2000-01). Hasek’s six Vezina Trophy wins are the second most in National Hockey League history. The only goaltender with more Vezina Trophy titles is Jacques Plante of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, Quebec, who won seven Vezina Trophies with the Montreal Canadiens.

Playoff Statistics

In 47 playoff games with Buffalo, Miller had a record of 25 wins and 22 losses. He had three postseason shutouts, a goals against average of 2.47 and a save percentage of .917.

Eighth Sabres player to have his number retired

Miller is the eighth Sabres player to have his number retired. He follows Tim Horton (2), Rick Martin (7), Gilbert Perreault (11), Rene Robert (14), Pat LaFontaine (16), Danny Gare (18), and Hasek (39).

Inspiration from Miller

The Sabres have had inspiration since retiring Miller’s number. On Thursday, the night the Sabres retired Miller’s number, Buffalo beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on an overtime winner by Dylan Cozens. Then on Saturday, the Sabres beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-3 on two goal games from Peyton Krebs and Victor Olofsson.