The Anaheim Ducks wasted no time in addressing their back up goaltending needs on the free-agent market this offseason. Before the bell even rang to mark the opening of free-agency on July 1st, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller was rumoured to be on the move to Orange County and, sure enough, the team would announce a two-year, $4 million dollar deal before the day was done. The signing signalled the ending of a stellar, but mostly forgettable, career for Miller as the Vancouver Canucks’ starting goaltender.

The True Foundational Player

Miller, of course, was one of the first additions by newly hired Canucks general manager Jim Benning on the same date just three years earlier. On July 1st, 2014 Miller inked a three-year, $18 million contract with the Canucks to become the team’s backbone while they attempted to retool on the fly. The thinking at the time was that without capable goaltending, a rebuild, retool or re-whatever would ultimately blow up in the team’s face. "He gives our team confidence," Benning said at the time. "He's a guy our team can rely on back there. Goaltending is the most important position on the team, so to add someone of his quality is great." While Benning has used the buzzword "foundational" to describe players like Brandon Sutter and Erik Gudbranson since Miller’s acquisition, Miller has truly been the foundation of the Canucks rebuild under its current regime.

The plays of last season’s Three Star Award winner was the sole reason the Canucks were in the 2016-17 playoff hunt as long as they were. His run immediately following the Holiday break put him at the top of the league in goaltending statistics with a 1.56 GAA and .945 Sv% during the stretch in which he posted a 7-2-2 record. He finished the campaign with a 2.80 GAA and league average .914 Sv%, ranking ahead of more lauded goaltenders like Martin Jones, Henrik Lundqvist and former Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider. While Miller was rarely spectacular in Vancouver, you can’t argue that he didn’t provide stability.

Miller averaged 50 starts a season during his three seasons in Vancouver and was almost always former head coach Willie Desjardins' first choice to start in goal. The veteran goaltender earned the trust of his head coach, his teammates and, eventually, the fans. Captain Henrik Sedin spoke glowingly about the veteran net minder’s resolve and even keeled approach. Goaltending partner Jacob Markstrom has extolled the virtues of Miller for two seasons now and there’s no telling just how big of an impact the veteran has had on Markstrom’s development.

A Veteran Influence

While Miller did an admirable job of stopping the puck in Vancouver, his most valuable contribution to the team over his tenure may have been the example he set for the team’s next generation of players. With the obvious influence on Markstrom aside, Miller was a also a veteran leader to young players like Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Ben Hutton, Markus Granlund and Jake Virtanen over the years. Who can forget the image of Miller staying late after practice to chat with the newly acquired forward Nikolay Goldobin? To Miller, he was merely doing his job as a leader on the team, stating simply, "I thought he looked good today and he looked like he needed somebody to tell him he was good." For all the leadership and intangibles nonsense that gets thrown around, Miller truly exemplified leadership in Vancouver.

Ryan Miller on Goldobin: "I just thought he looked good today and he looked like he needed somebody to tell him he was good." #Canucks https://t.co/8Xa13kZAyX — Canucks Now (@CanucksNow) April 4, 2017

Miller was mostly a quiet leader in Vancouver. He did his talking in the room, away from the media spotlight, and more often than not he let his play do the talking for himself. Of course there were times, like a Saturday night game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs early last season, where Miller went above and beyond for his teammates. Leafs pugilist Matt Martin jumped Canucks rookie Troy Stecher, in just the youngster’s 4th NHL game, but Miller jumped in to Stecher’s rescue before things could get out of control. In Miller’s own words, he wasn’t about to let Stecher "get baptized" by Martin. Again, that’s true leadership.

Stable Manager

The Miller to Markstrom succession plan was in place the moment the former signed in Vancouver. Faced with the prospect of losing Markstrom to waivers prior to the 2014-15 season, Benning realized the importance of an additional season of development for Markstrom in the AHL and made an astute move to slide him through waivers during the most advantageous time. The gamble paid off and Markstrom cleared. Since 2015-16, it’s been the Miller and Markstrom show in the Canucks crease. With Miller the clear A and Markstrom the clear B in the 1A/1B scenario, the pair put up nearly identical statistics. Over the past three seasons they have each posted a cumulative 2.69 GAA, while Miller edged Markstrom in Sv% .914 to .912. Last season as the team slid further and further in the standings fans clamoured for Markstrom to get the lion’s share of starts over Miller and they may have gotten their way were it not for a freak injury to Markstrom in the team’s Super Skills competition. Ultimately, the team nearly bottomed out and finished 29th overall in league standings. Now, Miller has a new home in Anaheim and Markstrom will finally get his chance to show what he’s capable of with an increased role. How Markstrom fares will go a long way toward indicating whether or not the Miller acquisition was worth it in the long run.

Ultimately, Markstrom’s success will be Ryan Miller’s legacy in Vancouver. If the former materializes as a bonafide #1 NHL goaltender, then the Miller tenure has been an uncontested success. If Markstrom falters or the team’s defence gets caved in as a result of losing stability and consistency in goal, the entire three years Miller spent between the pipes in Vancouver will ultimately have been spent in vain. So, how will Ryan Miller be remembered during his time as a Canuck? We’ll just have to wait for the revisionist’s history to play out in real-time.