The defensemen and goaltenders get to share the spotlight in the second portion of my Sabres season grades. As always, your thoughts are welcome in the comments section.

Tyler Myers: Oh, where to begin? Myers was downright bad to begin the year before leveling out at midseason. He looked out of shape and lost most of the time and his play suffered for it. Considering the salary he is being paid, his contributions are especially frightening. Before his injury he was only okay and you could certainly say the defensive play was better without him. Yikes. Grade: C-

A fired coach, traded captain, booing fans and missing the playoffs typically doesn’t not make for a very successful season. That was certainly the case for the 2013 Buffalo Sabres.

While there were a few bright spots amongst the doom and gloom, the lockout shortened season is certainly one to forget for the Sabres. Before shutting the door completely I wanted to grade out the team and players on how the year played out.

Team

The lights were on, the Sabres banner was set up.  Pens and paper were ready. The scene was set at the OK Corral and finally everyone would get the answers we have been yearning for. Instead, the spotlight was moved from the answers to the parties involved, all of whom withered under the light.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!

Abuse of power, arrogance, and detachment wrapped in one?

That's exactly what Monday's press conference was about. It was about two frustrated entities letting their own insecurities get the best of them. It just wasn't the finest hour for anyone.

Friday night, the Sabres closed out another season of spectacular failure.  They did it with Ryan Miller in net, possibly for the last time.

Miller has long been a player who draws attention to himself, be it on the ice or in the locker room with his sometimes emotional, rarely uninteresting interviews.  So naturally, the notion that Friday may have been Miller’s last game in a Sabre uniform had Sabre Nation buzzing.  Lots of intelligent opinions have been put forth in recent days across blogs and Twitter, and here, I will attempt to give you my own (although I make no promises of its intelligence).

In short, I have very mixed emotions about this.

"You Either Die a Hero, or You Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become the Villain"

Yes, all you dorks know those words were echoed by both Harvey Dent and Batman in "Dark Knight Rises". It is a pretty interesting quote when you equate it with sports in America. As great of a player as you become, sooner or later, the cheering stops. It ends because you either can't win the big one, or fans get too use to seeing your face on a yearly basis, or your skills just start deteriorating to the point fans want you off their team.

It is marriage that just starts to fizzle out.

In Buffalo, I'd say this is something that happens more often than other places. We are a desperate pissed off fan base who has never tasted a championship. Winning is the ultimate goal in sports and sure, any flash in the pan can get their 15 minutes of fame, but once the winning stops, the pointing of the fingers begins.

I've gone on record a few times on Twitter and on this site about bitching about who should be the captain. In a word: Bullshit. I just think fans and media members take it too far when it comes to who should wear the "C" on this team. If I had a dollar for every time someone called into a radio show or a media member bitched about how this guy should be wearing the "C" or it should be stripped from them, I'd be able to buy a captain's ship. It is an easy topic to get people all up in arms about because in our minds, it is the best way to vicariously live through a player.

Trade talk surrounding Ryan Miller has never been hotter as the Sabres begin to enter a rebuild and the potential to gain a handsome return for the former Vezina Winner. Acquiring valuable assets for the goaltender has become a hot topic as many question if he will return after his contract expires next summer.

What stands in the way of dealing Miller is his limited no-trade clause. Miller is able to provide a list of eight teams that he will veto a trade to, thus limiting Darcy Regier’s options. In addition, the impressive glut of quality goaltenders around the league could further limit trade partners for the Sabres.