There's a lot of wild speculation surrounding what might have been, at the most, Yzerman making a general inquiry about Miller.
If there's any actual legs to this and talks pick up traction be it now or in the off-season, it is highly unlikely a) Buffalo unloads Miller for a pittance or B) that Miller won't garner a significant return. You have to ignore the fact that only 1-year remains on Miller's deal; if Regier is dead-set on moving Miller, he would want to engineer a trade that would maximize the return for Buffalo, thus, striking a deal with a team that Miller is not only amenable to playing for but also signing an extension with. Regier would have every reason to want to allow a serious trade partner to gauge Miller's interest in extending with them, if not outright negotiating the framework of an extension.
This is partly why, IF a deal between Tampa Bay and Buffalo were to come to pass, that the haul Buffalo would receive including at least one of the likes of Conacher (Canisius College connection), Killorn, Connolly, Panik or even Kucherov (extremely high ceiling, Grigorenko connection) isn't just some far-fetched notion but actually plausible. I will say that I think that, of the bunch, Killorn's the closest to untouchable, the least likely to be moved.
The other part of this is Tampa Bay's contractual situation at forward presently and moving forward. TB has 10 forwards with 1-ways deals this season, 8 of whom (Lecavalier, Stamkos, St. Louis, Malone, Purcell, Thompson, Tyrell, Pyatt) are on the docket for next season and 2 (Pouliot - RFA, Crombeen - UFA) who are not. You've got 5 rookies (Conacher, Killorn, Panik, Palat, Johnson), all of whose deals expire at the end of 2013-2014, who've shown they belong at this level and another (Brett Connolly), who it's going to be hard to look in the eye and say he hasn't deserved to make the jump next season. It's hard to imagine a Cooper-led team not keeping a big-body capable of fighting, so if Crombeen is let walk as expected, you figure Labrie has a good shot at being re-signed or somebody else will be brought in.
This, folks, is a logjam. It's not a terrible thing, mind you, but something's got to give, even if you don't bring back Crombeen, Pouliot and Labrie. Without dealing anybody, there are options (like buying out Malone, burying a guy like Tyrell or Pyatt in the minors or even sending a kid or two back to Syracuse) but the combinations of which aren't necessarily entirely palatable. With Kucherov set to begin his pro career and Brown probably getting additional seasoning, waiting in the wings in Syracuse next season, you can understand why Yzerman might not be as hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal that ships off one of the kids as some of you here seem to be.
The question is only when, who, and for what. Miller would not be my choice.
