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.