While the Ducks are celebrating two recent Hall-of-Fame inductees in Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, they may have another one on their roster in Miller. He ranks 19th all-time and third among U.S.-born goaltenders with 358 career NHL victories, and since his NHL debut in 2002-03, he's fifth among NHL goaltenders in wins, second in saves and third in appearances. He is just 17 wins away from being the winningest US-born goaltender in NHL history.
Yet Miller knows his responsibilities may be different in Anaheim, where Gibson has established himself as the No. 1 netminder, but has struggled with occasional inconsistency and injuries. (He missed significant time late in the regular season with a lower body injury and was held out of Game 6 of the Western Conference Final vs. Nashville with an ailing hamstring.)
Gibson, like Miller, has represented Team USA on the national stage on a number of occasions, as Miller competed in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics while Gibson played in two World Juniors, a World Championship and the World Cup last year.
"He's a talented goaltender. He's proven he can take teams to the playoffs," Miller said of Gibson. "My role is going to change, and I'm aware of that heading into it. When you're put in the net, you're trusted with the game. You need to play the best you can to give your guys a chance to win. That's still a priority. That's what I'm focusing on.
"If I can help John along the way, I hope to. I've been playing for a long time, and I'd like to think I have some things that can help him out. We're going to be teammates in this. You can see with the Penguins, you need guys to come in and step up when they're needed. That's going to be more of my role, to be prepared and ready to help at a high level."