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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

13. Ryan Miller

Because of the sheer greatness of Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller was never going to be the best Goalie in Sabres history.  That being said, we know that Miller was pretty damned good.

Miller joined the Sabres organization after three years at Michigan State, and in his fourth year of professional hockey, Miller became the primary netminder for Buffalo.  He kept his GAA well under three, and finished sixth in Vezina voting in 2006-07, but Miller would have a banner year in 2009-10.  That season, Miller led the NHL in Point Shares (16.8), winning the Vezina and was fourth in Hart Trophy voting.  Miller would also post career-highs in Wins (41), GAA (2.22) and Save Percentage (.929).  On top of everything, Miller was the prime Goalie for the United States in the Olympics, and while the Americans fell to Canada in the Gold Medal Game, it was widely believed that Miller was the best player of the tournament.

Miller could not match that year, but he remained a strong Goalie, later playing for St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim, finishing an 18-year career in 2021.  He played in 540 Games, and had a 284-186-57 Record with a 2.58 GAA.

Niklas Hjalmarsson played most of his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and he is one of seven players who was a member of the 2010, 2012 and 2015 Stanley Cup Championship Teams.

Hjalmarsson was a tradition stay-at-home Defeneseman, but he did have two seasons (2013-14 & 2015-16) where he cracked the 20-Point threshold.  Internationally, he won a Silver Medal with Sweden in the 2016 Olympics.                              

242. Mikko Koivu

From Finland, Center Mikko Koivu played 16 years in the NHL, all but seven games with the Minnesota Wild.

Over his career, Koivu scored 711 Points (709 in Minnesota), and had three years (2008-09 to 2010-11) where he had at least 62 Points.  A solid playmaker, Koivu was equally adept at the defensive side of the rink.  Koivu enjoyed votes for the Frank J. Selke Award ten times, with four of them cracking the top ten in balloting.  Koivu might not have been an All-Star, but his contributions to the Wild are undeniable.

As we said with Jussi Jokinen, Koivu is unlikely to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he could be a fringe candidate for the IIHF.  Koivu played in 77 Senior Games for Finland, winning medals at the Olympics, World Cup of Hockey, and World Hockey Championships.

Jussi Jokinen

Jussi Jokinen may not have been considered a star in terms of his National Hockey League performance, but the Finnish Center appeared in 951 Games, though he never had more than 288 for any team.

Jokinen suited up for Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Florida, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Columbus and Chicago, and scored 563 Points, a respectable number.  Five times, he had 50-Point seasons, his best being a 30-35-65 campaign as a Hurricane in 2009-10.  After the 2017-18 season, Jokinen returned to his first professional team, Karpat in the Finnish League, playing three more years before he retired.

Jokinen is not likely to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Jokinen could be a dark horse candidate for the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, as he played 99 Games for Finland, winning Silver in the Olympics and World Hockey Championships, and Bronze in the Olympics, World Hockey Championships (twice) and World Juniors (twice).