Ryan Miller And Understanding the Difference Between Speculation and Truth

[Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports]Ryan Miller and the St. Louis Blues are finding out first hand what it is, exactly, that rumor mongers do even after the NHL trade deadline has come and gone. Why, they continue to monger rumors, of course! With the Toronto Maple Leafs collapsing, the Ottawa Senators eight points out of the final wild card spot in the East, and the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers representing the three worst teams in the West, there isn’t a whole lot for the folks over at TSN to chat about.

Beyond the Vancouver Canucks pushing for a bubble playoff spot at the last minute, the storylines are growing tired and thin up north, which is why their recent “Insider Trading” segment dealt with mostly all American threads. Chief among them: Miller’s future in St. Louis.

When asked about Miller, Bob McKenzie said the following:

"The conventional wisdom among the hockey community is that one of the reasons Miller wants to wait until free agency on July 1 is to see if there’s any interest from the Anaheim Ducks. There was all sorts of speculation that the Ducks tried to make a trade with the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season for Miller, but that it fell through and they weren’t able to do it."

This is thinly veiled speculation at best. McKenzie at no point claims to have insider information on this, and instead rambles on about Miller’s wife and assumes that Anaheim would be a likely destination because… well, she’s an actress and that’s where people in that industry want to go! California, baby! He continues:

"Miller’s wife is an actress. She does all sorts of work in Hollywood and the possibility of being on a California team might be something that is really good for Ryan Miller. So, we’ll wait and see where that goes."

Groundbreaking stuff from the TSN crew there. “Conventional wisdom” is just another phrase for “water cooler talk,” and that’s exactly what this is. Over the last few hours, the story has spread like a virus to FanSided.com, ProHockeyTalk.com and various other outlets.

It’s one thing to have some sort of inside knowledge of the situation. If McKenzie had spoken to Miller about this or Miller’s agent about this or Miller’s girlfriend wife about this, then maybe it’d carry some weight. This is simply a case of a nationally recognized reporter playing armchair GM. Just like you and me.

That it was posted on TSN.com gives it credence, but that’s about it. The facts of the situation are as follows:

• Miller’s girlfriend wife is, in fact, an actress
• Actresses work in California sometimes
• The Ducks will see Jonas Hiller‘s contract expire this summer if they don’t re-sign him
• Miller will also be a free agent this summer if he doesn’t re-up in St. Louis

…and that’s it. This isn’t to say that there’s no chance that Miller won’t go to Anaheim. It is to say that the rumor—if you can even call this level of speculation a true rumor—should be taken with a grain of salt. Like just about everything else in the “Insider Trading” segment, but that’s for another time.

For now, enjoy Miller and the success he’s brought with him to St. Louis and let the mongers do what they do best—and that’s meddle and speculate.

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