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Next up in our player discussion series #31 Matt Hackett G (25-year-old UFA) Rochester 7/5/3 2.75 .905 Buffalo 0/4/1 4.32 .884 A stellar run to the Calder Cup finals in 2011 with Houston, followed the next year by a 12-game stint in Minnesota where he compiled a .921 save percentage, marked Hackett as an emerging prospect. When he was acquired in the Pominville trade, some fans thought he might be Ryan Miller’s heir apparent. It hasn’t worked out that way. His first full season in Rochester was pedestrian at best. He struggled holding his emotions in check and eventually lost his hold on the number-one job to unheralded rookie Nathan Lieuwen. His average failed to crack the Mendoza Goalie Line of 3.00 and his save percentage was below the magic number of .900. A marginally better brief performance in Buffalo that year was cut short by a serious knee injury and his bid to rebound this year was hampered by tenderness in that same knee. When a games-played technicality made him a free agent this summer, some pointed fingers at coach Ted Nolan, suggesting he sat Hackett against the wishes of GM Tim Murray and cost the team an asset. Others wondered if Hackett’s performance with the organization made the discussion moot, since he wasn’t going to be offered a contract anyway. Does Hackett have the mental and physical toughness for professional hockey? Was his early promise a mirage? Have three consecutively worse seasons cost him his Sabres opportunity? Have they stalled his NHL career completely?