For Miller, it’s better to be good than popular
VANCOUVER — It has been so long since Ryan Miller was a backup goalie that he has forgotten what it’s like to be the most popular guy on the team.
The Vancouver Canucks’ starter didn’t get any more popular with the draft-day trade of backup goalie Eddie Lack, who had more fans on the West Coast than a single-detached home.
General manager Jim Benning’s trade went over like an oil spill but at least provided some clarity with regard to the National Hockey League team’s goalkeeping. It also put more pressure on Miller, who turned 35 in July, to play like an elite netminder after his solid-but-unspectacular first season in Vancouver was undermined in February by a serious knee sprain.
“Eddie’s popularity is wellfounded,” Miller said Monday. “He is a nice person who engaged with the fans, and he played good hockey and was improving. That’s where that popularity comes in.
“In Buffalo, I had to come in after Dominik Hasek and I had to come in after Marty Biron, who was a very likable, talkative guy. Really, what it comes down to is you just have to go out and play good hockey. That’s always been my concern.”
To that end, Miller has been working quietly in Richmond with goaltending instructor Alex Auld rather than skating and scrimmaging with teammates at Britannia Arena. Miller has been under the radar at the Olympic Oval.
He said his right knee is fine and he spent the entire summer working on ice in Los Angeles, where he and his actress wife, Noureen DeWulf, spend the offseason.
“My knee reacted pretty well to rehabilitation,” Miller said. “I was on the ice by the end of May and … I didn’t think there was any need to get off because I missed two months [while injured]. Training went well.
“It’s a different approach for me. Britannia was great for me last year just to get to know the guys. This year, I know them. This was a chance to quietly work on stuff before it gets crazy.”
Like every other Canuck, Miller keenly tracked Benning’s off-season moves — the departures of Lack and Kevin Bieksa, Nick Bonino, Zack Kassian, Brad Richardson and Shawn Matthias and the acquisitions of Brandon Sutter, Brandon Prust and Matt Bartkowski.
Miller knows Frankie Corrado will be on the Canucks this season and Jake Virtanen could be. Beyond the displeasure over the Lack trade, Miller is aware most people figure the Canucks won’t match the surprising 101 points they had during the first season of the Benning-Trevor LindenWillie Desjardins regime.
“I think last year, a lot of people looked at us and said: ‘We don’t know how they’re going to do. We’re not going to pay much mind to them,’ ” Miller said. “It seems that’s how it’s shaping up this year, too.
“I hope people in Vancouver have some faith that we want to go out and perform and we believe in our team. We’ve got a great top line, and it will be interesting to see how the second and third lines shake out. On defence, all the guys are solid. I just want to see how they pair everybody up. But if you look at last year, the same questions were being asked. That’s the nature of sports.”
Training-camp testing is Thursday at Rogers Arena before the Canucks travel to Prince George for practices Friday, Saturday and Sunday.