Weave Posted June 22, 2018 Report Posted June 22, 2018 Lehner has a career save percentage of .915. He's not nearly as bad as you all want him to be. He finished in the top 10 in 2016-17. Real NHL GM's seem to think otherwise. I'm not sure how you can counter that. Quote
Huckleberry Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Still wonder what Grubauer would cost A 2nd + orpik Khudobin, I want him in Buffalo. Quote
Iron Crotch Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Mitch Korn is his name. I have little to offer other than that sentiment I've heard from many different places, going back to his days with Vokoun and Rinne in Nashville. I've also heard incredibly vague musings from fans about Grubauer basically being another batch of unknown just like Lehner, Talbot were. Not a bad thing, but one should know the inherent risk coming with the move. WADR, how can you guys not know who Mitch Korn is? He was Dominik Hasek's goalie coach. IMHO, he is one of the top 2 or 3 goalie coaches in the business and has been for a long time. Quote
gilbert11 Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Johnson isn't under contract either so I think it's fair to stop mentioning him. And FWIW, Ward's numbers were essentially identical to Lehner's last year so I'm not sure what you are going for there. Ward would be cheaper. It depends on what the Sabres are thinking. Do they want a solid #2 with the thought that it's Ullmark's job or do they want someone to compete with Ullmark right now. Given that they also have 2 2nd round picks in Johansson and UPL (plus whatever goalie they might draft tomorrow) in the system I think this is Ullmark's shot to take the job. He's had a couple solid years in Rochester, he's had a cup of coffee in the NHL, he's almost 25 years old, it's about time to see if he's the guy. If not now then really it's never for Ullmark. That leads me to the solid #2 area for goalies which brings Cam Ward into play as well as Carter Hutton and Anton Khudobin. There are several other guys out there for whom you could trade rather cheaply I'd suspect as well. I don't know what they're thinking but they should always have competition. If a player isn't strong enough mentally to handle competition, he shouldn't be a starter. It pissed me off when the Bills with Chan Gailey signed Fitzpatrick at the time to be a backup to Trent Edwards because they didn't want Edwards looking over his shoulder. In the end, though, Fitz took the job and Edwards was released. Quote
JJFIVEOH Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Real NHL GM's seem to think otherwise. I'm not sure how you can counter that. I'm sorry you don't approve of my viewpoint. But after seeing what the Panthers and Penguins went through, I'm leery about not having at least two proven, qualified goaltenders on the roster. Right now, the entire core of Sabres goaltenders have less than 30 games played. The Golden Knights don't get where they were without Subban. The Caps don't get where they were without Grubauer. And they had proven starters in front of them! The Sabres don't even have that. I never claimed Lehner was the answer. But, unless you have something better lined up, you don't go leaving a spot wide open with nothing to replace it. The Sabres neutered Lehner this year, he is a Hextall type player and he wasn't allowed to be himself............. which is when he excelled. Regardless of what GM's think of him, he put up much better numbers than any other goaltender for the Sabres in years. Enroth might come close, and he was good in the shootouts. (He holds the NHL record for most consecutive stops). So now we're down to an unproven and............................. well, that's it. Chad hasn't re-signed and I hope he doesn't. By ESPN standards, he was 2nd worst in the entire league last year in save percentage. If Botterill has another plan in mind to bring in a proven #1 starter, then I'll support the decision to dump Lehner. But, in the meantime, you don't let your starter walk until you've figured out a better plan. And right now it appears they have none. Quote
erickompositör72 Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 ... having at least two proven, qualified goaltenders on the roster. That criteria already excludes Lehner ...he is a Hextall type player and he wasn't allowed to be himself............. which is when he excelled. There's a reason there are no longer "Hextall type players" with NHL starting goaltender jobs Quote
JJFIVEOH Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 That criteria already excludes Lehner There's a reason there are no longer "Hextall type players" with NHL starting goaltender jobs Perhaps, but he's certainly a hell of a lot closer than anything else they have, Quote
Doohicksie Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Perhaps, but he's certainly a hell of a lot closer than anything else they have, Meh. They'll get someone else. He wasn't that special. Quote
Weave Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) I'm sorry you don't approve of my viewpoint.No need to be defensive. I didn’t attack you. You are right in that we are down to an unproven and a roster spot, but we need that open roster spot if we are going to attempt to upgrade the position. Goaltending is a legit area of concern. The next step cannot be fouled up if we are going to do much winning this season. AFAIAC this is Jbots make or break right here. If he chooses wrong everything else done is for naught. Edited June 23, 2018 by We've Quote
irregularly irregular Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Perhaps, but he's certainly a hell of a lot closer than anything else they have, Lots of time until training camp starts. Free agency has not even opened yet. Patience grasshopper. Quote
JJFIVEOH Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 No need to be defensive. I didn’t attack you. You are right in that we are down to an unproven and a roster spot, but we need that open roster spot if we are going to attempt to upgrade the position. Goaltending is a legit area of concern. The next step cannot be fouled up if we are going to do much winning this season. AFAIAC this is Jbots make or break right here. If he chooses wrong everything else done is for naught. Sorry, didn't mean to sound defensive, that wasn't my intention. If he can pick up a quality starter, then I'll be fine with this decision. I just think it's risky to dump Lehner before he's made a deal for a quality starter. We'll see. Quote
Weave Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Sorry, didn't mean to sound defensive, that wasn't my intention. If he can pick up a quality starter, then I'll be fine with this decision. I just think it's risky to dump Lehner before he's made a deal for a quality starter. We'll see. Not unlike the decision to unload Tyrod Taylor. It'll end up a defining moment for both GM's IMO. Quote
nfreeman Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Sorry, didn't mean to sound defensive, that wasn't my intention. If he can pick up a quality starter, then I'll be fine with this decision. I just think it's risky to dump Lehner before he's made a deal for a quality starter. We'll see. The problem though is that because of the calendar, they couldn't really pick up a new goalie in FA before deciding whether or not to give Lehner a qualifying offer -- and if they had given Lehner the QO, they would've been stuck with him for another year. (However, I think they could've traded for Grubauer before making the call on Lehner -- and I'll be interested to see whether Grubauer turns out to be the good one that got away -- since it only cost a mid-2nd plus eating Orpik's contract.) Quote
TrueBlueGED Posted June 23, 2018 Report Posted June 23, 2018 Sorry, didn't mean to sound defensive, that wasn't my intention. If he can pick up a quality starter, then I'll be fine with this decision. I just think it's risky to dump Lehner before he's made a deal for a quality starter. We'll see. It really depends who you think the real Robin Lehner is. If he's the guy who played last season, there is absolutely zero risk in walking away before acquiring another goalie--he was the walking definition of replacement level. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted June 25, 2018 Report Posted June 25, 2018 I wonder if Cal Petersen is regretting going to an organization where he won't have a chance to start for years when he'd have had an amazing shot here this season. Quote
Huckleberry Posted June 25, 2018 Report Posted June 25, 2018 I wonder if Cal Petersen is regretting going to an organization where he won't have a chance to start for years when he'd have had an amazing shot here this season. I would be. Quote
miles Posted June 25, 2018 Report Posted June 25, 2018 I have been following the wild quite a bit, and i posted this once before, but Alex Stalock is the wild backup. he got some consistent playing time when Dubnyk was hurt, and there was some real questions by the fans on if Stalock should be the starter and they should trade Dubnyk. With that said, the wild obviously kept Dubnyk as the starter, but i personally feel Stalock is too good to stay as a backup, and should be a starter. I would really like to see him in buffalo. Quote
Iron Crotch Posted June 26, 2018 Report Posted June 26, 2018 I have been following the wild quite a bit, and i posted this once before, but Alex Stalock is the wild backup. he got some consistent playing time when Dubnyk was hurt, and there was some real questions by the fans on if Stalock should be the starter and they should trade Dubnyk. With that said, the wild obviously kept Dubnyk as the starter, but i personally feel Stalock is too good to stay as a backup, and should be a starter. I would really like to see him in buffalo. I like this idea better than the Carter Hutton rumors. I watched Hutton play many times in Nashville and just don't see him as an upgrade over Lehner. IMHO, his good numbers this past season were a function of St. Louis' uber-defensive system. Quote
pi2000 Posted June 26, 2018 Report Posted June 26, 2018 I wonder if Cal Petersen is regretting going to an organization where he won't have a chance to start for years when he'd have had an amazing shot here this season. The Kings have fantastic goalie coaches in their organization... they have a history of developing starters and quality backups... that's why he choose LA. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted June 26, 2018 Report Posted June 26, 2018 The Kings have fantastic goalie coaches in their organization... they have a history of developing starters and quality backups... that's why he choose LA.Quick, Bernier, who else? Quote
Iron Crotch Posted June 26, 2018 Report Posted June 26, 2018 Quick, Bernier, who else? Martin Jones Quote
Huckleberry Posted June 27, 2018 Report Posted June 27, 2018 If we could have kept him at a lower price tag it would have been great I think. Lehner isn't bad goalie :unsure: Quote
TheAud Posted July 1, 2018 Report Posted July 1, 2018 Bernier for 2 years @ $2.5M per would be a good complement to Ullmark. Let them fight it out for playing time. Then take a flier on another veteran who can battle for playing time in Rochester. Like Christopher Gibson or Scott Wedgewood. Hutton for 3 years @2.75 instead of Bernier, and Wedgewood for Rochester....I'm happy. Quote
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