Murray, the new GM of the Buffalo Sabres, made it crystal clear that he wants to deal Olympic goaltender Ryan Miller.

"The route we are looking at is to get value for him. To put him in a position to succeed. Our goal right now is to pursue a proper trade," Murray told reporters before the Sabres' game at Carolina, Buffalo TV station WKBW reported.

Murray has a week to trade Miller, who started Tuesday in the NHL's first post-Sochi game. The GM said between two and 10 teams have asked about Miller, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Part of Murray's reasoning is his belief that the 33-year-old Miller doesn't want to stick around as the Sabres rebuild.

"I know what I think his first choice would be and I don't think signing here is his first choice at his age with where we are at," Murray told reporters.

Miller, in his postgame comments, didn't contradict Murray, but he also didn't express a burning desire to stay.

From the Buffalo News:

"I'm going to be 34 this year and let's be realistic, there's only a handful of guys who've played effectively longer into their 30s. I'd like to be one of those guys but there's no guarantees. I'm not going to close anything off because maybe as we go through there's some things that change here but the things that they're going to have to do are probably going to come during the trade deadline and maybe I'm one of them, and they're going to come during the draft and during free agency.

"It's tough to kind of correlate seeing what they're going to do and what they can do and what I might need to do for my career. I don't want to close anything off right now but I know they're kind of looking around for an opportunity and I think that's probably best for everybody."


SOCHI INJURIES 


The 2014 Olympics in Sochi are over, but the after affects are still being felt by some unlucky teams.

Multiple players returned from the games nursing injuries. And the news for a lot of those players is not good.

We already knew about the Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg, who may be gone for the season with a herniated disc in his back. We also knew about the New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello, who is out 3-4 weeks with a fractured hand. There was a double whammy for the Florida Panthers as Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Tomas Kopecky (concussion) also went down during the games.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, fighting with the Red Wings and others for the playoffs in the East, will be without defenseman Fedor Tyutin for 2-3 weeks with a knee injury. That’s better news than the Islanders got with John Tavares, as their captain is out for the season with a torn MCL. On the bright side for the Islanders, Tavares will be able to avoid surgery, which speeds up his recovery time.

There’s also Ryan Kesler, who played through a hand injury during the games. Unfortunately, he may not be able to play for the Canucks when they return to action on Wednesday. He is currently listed as day to day. That’s yet another blow for a Canucks team that may not have Henrik Sedin back either.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have learned they will be without defenseman Paul Martin for 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand. That’s a huge blow to the Penguins blue line, which is already missing Kris Letang (stroke).

All of this is certainly going to add fuel to the fire Islanders general manager Garth Snow started last week when he blasted the NHL’s participation in the Olympics after Tavares went down.

But for what it’s worth, Penguins and USA head coach Paul Byslma doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment.

"Really, the disappointment in seeing Paul get injured was that he couldn't play in the Canada game,” Byslma said.

"It didn't cross my mind one time, seeing Paul get hurt, that, 'man, we shouldn't have done that.'"

Fans of the Canadian hockey teams that saw their team win gold may agree. USA fans who have a bad taste in their mouths after the disastrous end to the tournament for the stars and stripes, may feel differently.

Likewise, Tavares was quoted as saying: “For me, as a player, I think it’s important for us to play. I think you saw how much we enjoy representing our countries at that level.” Tavares did concede he understood why his general manager feels differently.

Neither side is necessarily wrong of course — both have valid reasons for backing their view. It may not seem to be in the NHL’s best interest to continue Olympic participation, but if the fans, players and coaches feel differently, should the NHL cut the cord? One thing is certain: The next round of negotiations between the IOC, IIHF and NHL will be very interesting.


LATVIAN GETS CHANCE


One game does not a career make. But it can certainly help you get your foot in the door. A week ago, you could probably count the number of NHL fans who knew the name “Kristers Gudlevskis” on one hand. Today, he’s not far off getting a chance to make his NHL debut.

The netminder from Aizkraukle, Latvia who nearly helped his country shock the hockey world in the Olympics against Canada looks likely to dress for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the coming games. Lightning backup goalie Anders Lindback has not been cleared to skate as he recovers from an ankle injury. Gudlevskis did dress for the Lightning prior to the Olympic break, but did not get into a game.

Gudlevskis has been toiling at the ECHL and AHL levels this season. His numbers in the ECHL were very good — a 1.83 GAA and .925 save percentage in 11 games played. However, his AHL numbers were pedestrian, a 2.69 GAA and .900 save percentage in 22 games played, making his performance against Canada even more shocking.

How he got this point is impressive enough — read James Mirtle recent story on that for more - but even the circumstances in which he made his name are remarkable. Not only did he stand on his head making 55 saves in a surprise start- Latvia’s starter was sick with the flu — but he did it against by far the Olympics most dominant team, which was put together by his boss in Tampa, Steve Yzerman. In short, a perform storm of opportunity came together for Gudlevskis and he made the most of it.

Ben Bishop, who is having a phenomenal year in his own right, is still the starter in Tampa and barring injury, isn’t going anywhere. But the Lightning play four times over the next six days, including a road back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday and Bishop may not start them all. Provided Lindback can’t get cleared in time, Gudlevskis could be in position to see his first NHL start.

How it goes from there is anybody’s guess. The spectacular effort against Canada could be indicative of something. But so too might be the mediocre numbers in the minors. But Gudlevskis game against Canada looks to have him in a position where we can find out. And that is a story in itself.

Contributors: Tom Gatto, Sean Gentille, Ben Valentine