It might surprise you that Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres and Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes have similar stats in their career. After all, it is Miller who has enjoyed such a stellar reputation as the Vezina Trophy winning “Pride of America” moniker with his 2010 Olympic silver medal performance.

The two goaltenders took decidedly different routes to their NHL success, with their career arcs intersecting at either this year or last. Miller has been the backbone of the Buffalo franchise since his 2005 Sabres debut. Conversely, Smith was toiling in the AHL as recently as 2011 with Norfolk’s Admirals in the Tampa Bay system before finding a home in Phoenix.

Hard times have fallen on the Buffalo Sabres and their goaltending legend. Replacing Dominik Hasek was hard enough, but the Michigan State alum did just that once he took over as the Sabres goaltender. Though he was never able to duplicate Hasek’s playoff success, Miller has set the club record for wins in a season (41) and all time (257).

Things have taken a turn for Miller on a personal level since an ill-fated collision with Boston’s Milan Lucic in November 2011. The Bruin power forward took a run at the Sabres goaltender in open ice resulting in a concussion that left Miller’s head scrambled. It wasn’t as if Miller’s play was particularly inspiring prior to the injury, but he was down right bad in the following months. The entire (abbreviated) season of 2013 seemed to produce more of the same from Miller, though in fairness, the Sabres were downright awful for most of the season.

Meanwhile in the desert, Mike Smith has finally found a home, and a starting gig. After brief stints in Dallas and Tampa Bay, and their respective AHL affiliates, Smith signed on as a free agent to compete for the goaltending job that Ilya Bryzgalov abandoned for Philadelphia. Hahaha!! Remember when that seemed like such a good idea for Philly and for Bryz?!?!

By default, Smith won the job and never let it go. A stellar 2011-12 season had the Lightning kicking themselves for letting him walk. The shortened 2013 season was a tough one for the Coyotes and Smith, but he still played better than Bryzgalov and everyone that Tampa threw out there in goal.

If I was to bet your next paycheck on a starting goaltender the logical choice would be to go with the younger Smith. He has been trending in the right direction and plays on a better team. However, the wild card here is that Miller could be traded to a contender this season. Jhonas Enroth has shown that he is capable of shouldering the load in net. That, coupled with the final year of Miller’s $6.25 million salary could land the 33-year old on a contender that is looking to squeeze the best out of the embattled Sabre.

With a few contenders that look shaky in goal and another couple of teams that look plain terrible in goal, Ryan Miller’s value could go through the roof if he can recapture his glory days. While I have faith in the style and team defense that Phoenix coach Dave Tippett loves, I’m leaning towards Ryan Miller. For at least one more year.