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Serena says she’s ready for Wimbledon

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<p>BUFFALO, N.Y. &#8212; Sabres general manager Jason Botterill disputed the speculation that adding defenseman Colin Miller in a trade with Vegas directly leads to Buffalo subtracting another defenseman such as Rasmus Ristolainen.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s going to be rumors because he&#8217;s a player teams want to go after and teams want to have,&#8221; Botterill told reporters Saturday, a day after acquiring Miller .</p><p>&#8220;I think there&#8217;s always a demand for those,&#8221; he said, referring to Miller and Ristolainen both being right-shot defenseman and playing under reasonably priced contracts. &#8220;I&#8217;m never going to be in a situation where I complain about too much depth.&#8221;</p><p>The Sabres suddenly have plenty of talent on defense after Miller became expendable in Vegas as a result of the salary cap-crunch facing the Golden Knights and their over-extended payroll. In acquiring a fourth-year player who combined for 13 goals and 70 points over his past two seasons, Buffalo gave up a 2021 second-round and 2022 fifth-round draft pick.</p><p>Miller has three years left on the $15.5 million contract he signed last summer.</p><p>Aside from Ristolainen, Miller joins a group of defenseman that includes rookie of the year finalist Rasmus Dahlin, Brandon Montour, Zach Bogosian, Marco Scandella and restricted free agent Jake McCabe.</p><p>&#8220;Right now, to me, this gives us options,&#8221; Botterill said. &#8220;We wanted to improve our competition and improve our depth, and that&#8217;s why we made the move.&#8221;</p><p>Ristolainen is the Sabres&#8217; workhorse after topping 24 minutes of ice time per game for the fourth consecutive season last year. He has three years left on a six-year $32.4 million contract.</p><p>Injuries are an issue, with Bogosian (hip) and Lawrence Pilut (shoulder) both expected to miss the start of next season.</p><p>Miller had what he called mixed emotions about being traded.</p><p>He&#8217;s going to miss Vegas, where he led the team&#8217;s defensemen with 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in the Golden Knights&#8217; inaugural season two years ago. On the upside, Miller looks to establish himself in a larger role with the Sabres after having an up-and-down season last year.</p><p>Another plus for Miller is he&#8217;ll no longer worry about being mentioned in trade rumors.</p><p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t be looking over my shoulder now at what Vegas is doing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Your focused on the opportunity that you now have moving forward. It&#8217;s definitely a good one here.&#8221;</p><p>Newly hired Sabres coach Ralph Krueger noted Miller fits his style of play, which is similar to the Golden Knights&#8217; speedy, aggressive approach. With the Sabres in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought, Krueger also noted Miller having extensive playoff experience, including Vegas&#8217; run to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2018, file photo, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller (6) skates around Los Angeles Kings right wing Tyler Toffoli during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game in Las Vegas. A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that the Buffalo Sabres have acquired Miller from the Golden Knights for a pair of draft picks. The Golden Knights acquired a second-round pick in the 2021 draft and a 2022 fifth-round selection. The person spoke Friday, June 28, on the condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_123121372-3f71fe170d84459ea49446024e95009f.jpg</photo0><caption0>FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2018, file photo, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller (6) skates around Los Angeles Kings right wing Tyler Toffoli during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game in Las Vegas. A person with direct knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that the Buffalo Sabres have acquired Miller from the Golden Knights for a pair of draft picks. The Golden Knights acquired a second-round pick in the 2021 draft and a 2022 fifth-round selection. The person spoke Friday, June 28, on the condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Wawrow</p><p>AP Hockey Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Sabres adding Miller doesn’t mean subtracting Ristolainen