Buffalo Sabres (2002–2014) in 2004 After three seasons with Michigan State, Miller moved to the
American Hockey League (AHL), where he played for the
Buffalo Sabres' affiliate, the
Rochester Americans, from the 2002–03 season until the 2004–05 season. During the 2002–03 season, he played 15 regular season games for Buffalo. In the 2004–05 season, with the NHL not playing due to a
lockout, he won 41 games for the Americans, tying
Gerry Cheevers' record. He finished the season with a 2.45 GAA. In 2004–05, the Americans were the North Division and Regular Season champions in the AHL. They lost in the division finals, however, to the
Manitoba Moose. Miller finished the
2005–06 season by establishing himself as the starting goaltender for the Sabres. He ranked 11th among NHL goaltenders with a 2.60 GAA and ninth in a
save percentage, with .914. Miller led the Sabres to a surprise season, winning 30 games and advancing to the conference finals. After the 2005–06 season, Miller became a restricted free agent and waived his right to arbitration.
Mike Liut, Miller's agent, continued to negotiate with the Sabres through the summer. On September 8, 2006, the Sabres announced that they had re-signed Miller to a three-year contract. in 2010 The 2006–07 season would prove a successful one. In his first season starting with the number one job, Miller and his team won the first 10 games in a row. Miller was voted the starting goaltender for the
Eastern Conference of the
2007 NHL All-Star Game. In a 12–9 loss, Miller played the first period and allowed three goals. Miller also gained a reputation of a shootout specialist with his technique of challenging the shooter outside the crease. That season he was 10–4 in shootouts, with
Martin Brodeur of the
New Jersey Devils being his closest rival at 10 wins and 6 losses. In 63 games played that season, Miller posted a .911 save percentage and a 2.72 GAA backing a more offensively-oriented team. In the post-season of that year, the Sabres advanced to their second conference finals in as many years, losing to the
Ottawa Senators in five games. Miller posted a .922 save percentage and 2.22 GAA in the playoffs. On October 11, the Sabres won their second home game of the 2007–08 season with a 6–0 win over the
Atlanta Thrashers. Miller earned a shutout, stopping 20 shots in a game following the death of his 18-year-old cousin, Matt, who had died the Monday before of a complication with a bone-marrow transplant. At the close of the game, Miller raised his stick to the home crowd in tribute and received star honors for his effort in net. On January 1, 2008, Miller played with the Sabres in the
AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, which was the first outdoor NHL game to be held in the United States. The game was played at
Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to
National Football League's
Buffalo Bills, in
Orchard Park, New York. The Sabres lost in a shoot-out to the
Pittsburgh Penguins, but Miller only allowed one goal (out of 25 shots) in regulation. On March 28, Miller played in his 73rd game of the season, breaking the Sabres franchise record for most games played in a season, passing
Grant Fuhr,
Dominik Hašek and
Martin Biron. Miller finished the season with 76 games played, recording a 2.64 GAA and a .906 save percentage. On July 18, 2008, Miller signed a five-year contract extension worth $31.25 million with the Sabres. The contract took effect at the start of the 2009–10 season. Miller suffered a high-end ankle sprain on February 22, 2009, in a game against the
New York Rangers, which kept him out of action until late March. Despite Miller's strong 34–18–6 record during the
2008–09 season, the Sabres narrowly missed out on qualifying for a playoff berth. Miller's popularity in both Buffalo and for American hockey has spawned several nicknames, including "
Miller Time" (after the
Miller brewing company's advertising slogan), while the
Toronto media has nicknamed him the "Leaf Killer: Ryan Miller" for his excellent success against one of the Sabres top rivals, the
Toronto Maple Leafs. In the
2009–10 season, Miller played exceptionally, with a GAA of under 2.00 before the Olympic break. He finished the season with a 2.22 GAA and a .929 save percentage. He led the Buffalo Sabres to a Northeast Division title and posted 41 wins, breaking his former record of 40 wins posted in 2006–07. His play became even more popular around the U.S after being nominated for the
Vezina Trophy for the league's best goaltender. On June 23, 2010, in
Las Vegas, Nevada, at the 2010 NHL Award Ceremony, Miller was announced as the winner of the 2010 Vezina Trophy, beating New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender
Ilya Bryzgalov. That same night, Miller also became the first American player to win the
NHL Foundation Player Award. Late in the
2010–11 season, on March 29, 2011, during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite finishing the game in a 4–3 losing cause, Miller suffered what was later reported to be an "upper body injury." Initial speculation on the specifics of Miller's injury ranged from a concussion resulting from a
Brian Rolston shot that rang off his mask, to a bruised collarbone from a
Dion Phaneuf shot. On February 4, 2012, Miller surpassed Dominik Hašek as the franchise leader in career wins with 235 in a 4–3 shootout win against the
New York Islanders at
Nassau Coliseum. Miller accomplished this feat in six-and-a-half years as the starting goaltender for Buffalo, while it took Hašek nine years. The
2012–13 NHL season did not go well for the Sabres, as they finished 12th in the
Eastern Conference and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Miller finished the season with a 2.81 GAA and a .915 save percentage. in 2015
St. Louis Blues (2014) On February 28, 2014, Miller and forward
Steve Ott were traded from the Sabres to the
St. Louis Blues in exchange for
Jaroslav Halák,
Chris Stewart,
William Carrier and two future draft picks. He would make his Blues debut along with Ott on March 3, stopping 23 shots in a 4–2 victory over the
Phoenix Coyotes. Miller and the Blues lost in the first round of the
2014 Stanley Cup playoffs to the defending
2013 Stanley Cup champions, the
Chicago Blackhawks. On May 19, the Blues signed
Brian Elliott to a three-year contract and Blues General Manager
Doug Armstrong announced that Elliott would join
Jake Allen to form their goaltending tandem. Miller was not re-signed.
Vancouver Canucks (2014–2017) Miller became an unrestricted
free agent on July 1, 2014, and signed a three-year, $18 million contract to become the starting goaltender with the
Vancouver Canucks. On October 28, Miller became the 30th goaltender in NHL history to reach 300 career wins. He made 29 saves as the Canucks beat the
Carolina Hurricanes 4–1. On January 30, 2015, after beating his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, 5–2, Miller has beaten every team in the NHL at least once. However, on February 22, Miller was injured after
Jannik Hansen crashed into him, ending his night as he and Eddie Lack combined for a shutout over the New York Islanders. He would miss the next 21 games. After 22 games of not being on ice, Miller returned to start the last game of the regular season as the Canucks beat the
Edmonton Oilers, 6–5.
Anaheim Ducks and retirement (2017–2021) After concluding his three-year contract with the Canucks, Miller left as a free agent and signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the
Anaheim Ducks on July 1, 2017. He began the
2017–18 season on the injured-reserve list due to a lingering wrist injury. In his return to health, Miller was able to make his debut with the Ducks in a 4–3 shootout victory over the
Carolina Hurricanes on October 29, 2017. On February 17, 2019, Miller became the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history, surpassing
John Vanbiesbrouck. On June 20, 2019, Miller was re-signed by the Ducks to return for a third season with the club, agreeing to a one-year $2.235 million contract extension. On December 23, 2020, Miller was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Ducks. On April 29, 2021, Miller announced he would retire from the NHL at the end of the
2020–21 season. Miller played his final NHL game, a 4–3 overtime loss to the
Minnesota Wild in which
Victor Rask scored the game winning goal 2:46 into the overtime period on May 8, 2021. The Buffalo Sabres retired Miller's number 30 on January 19, 2023. On September 8, 2022, it was announced that Miller would be inducted into the
United States Hockey Hall of Fame. ==International play==