For the most part, the St. Louis Blues put on brave - if disappointed - faces after another dispiriting first-round exit, this time against the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s hard to know what, exactly, one can make of Ryan Miller’s reaction.
Without detecting the tone (educated guess: deflated?), this comment just seems puzzling:
(2/2) Ryan Miller on what's ahead for him: ""I don't know. I guess I'm free to go to my sister-in-law's wedding. That's about it." #stlblues
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 27, 2014
Again, it’s worth noting that he was very likely being self-deprecating more than anything else, even if Blues fans aren’t likely to be very happy about his statement.
It would be understandable if Miller is just overwhelmed and disappointed. Between the playoffs and his brief regular season time with St. Louis, he went 12-12-1 and put up mediocre individual numbers (.897 save percentage in the playoffs, only slightly worse than his .903 mark in 19 regular season games with St. Louis).
At least one Blues player had Miller’s back:
Ott on Miller: "It definitely wasn't Millsie. He kept us in every single night. "
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) April 27, 2014
Either way, as an unrestricted free agent coming off a disappointing performance, this loss hurts on both a financial and emotional level for the 33-year-old goalie. It’s difficult to imagine Miller signing a deal with the Blues, which sits just fine with what’s likely to be a good portion of St. Louis fans.
(Raise your hand if you hope he lands with a Central Division team so he sees a lot of the Blues next season and beyond ...)