Goaltending this season and Beyond

[North Buffalo]

2 hours ago, Curt said:

This turn of phrase needs more workshopping.

Yeh but you get the gist... move along little doggie.

[Curt]

8 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Yeh but you get the gist... move along little doggie.

 

move a long little doggie you say?

Edited February 21, 2022 by Curt

[LGR4GM]

Some minor good news

 

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Some minor good news

 

So, you're saying Dell was an upgrade over Blackwood, Hutton, & Johansson. 😉

 

[Flashsabre]

42 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Some minor good news

 

That is impressive of NJ to have 3 on the list.😛

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

That is impressive of NJ to have 3 on the list.😛

Still believe it's more impressive that the Sabres walked away from 3 of them.  Guess Adams actually HAS improved the goaltending.  (Where's that wacko emoji when you need it?)

Edit: Oops, only 2.  Keep getting Blackwood confused w/ that other stellar Devils draft pick Scott Wedgwood.  D'oh!

Edited February 25, 2022 by Taro T

[ddaryl]

34 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Still believe it's more impressive that the Sabres walked away from 3 of them.  Guess Adams actually HAS improved the goaltending.  (Where's that wacko emoji when you need it?)

Who could of thought that there was a whole another level of inept we could of achieved at G.. Seeing 2 former Sabres on the list must mean we are trending in the right direction

 

[kas23]

I remember when Vejmelka played lights-out against us in the 2nd game this year. 

[French Collection]

Article from Bleacher Report on the trend of large goalies. 
 

The story discusses the success of Saros (5’11”) and Shesterkin (6’1”). There is a mention of Devon Levi as a future small goaltending star.

 

https://apple.news/Arl519OIwR2aK1X3GxtcAEQ
 

Edited February 25, 2022 by French Collection

[PromoTheRobot]

All we need to find a goaltender who can maintain a .995 save %.

[Marvin]

What has me flummoxed is Binnington being a lesser version of Aaron Dell.  He was a big part of St. Louis's Cup run.

[Norcal]

7 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

That is impressive of NJ to have 3 on the list.😛

Schmid was leading the AHL, might still be. Just shows it means nothing. Team prolly felt he "earned" a call up and he just gets burnt. 

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Some minor good news

 

So Primeau is the goalie who's records Levi is breaking right now.

Let's hope he has better early and career success in the NHL too, wow. 

[Curt]

5 hours ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

What has me flummoxed is Binnington being a lesser version of Aaron Dell.  He was a big part of St. Louis's Cup run.

It’s surprising that he is truly bad, yes, and he did play great during the cup run, but to me it’s no surprise that he has not maintained a high level of play.

I cringed when he got that contract.  If you look at his career trajectory, he looks like a Linus Ullmark level player.  He just had that one special season.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Curt said:

It’s surprising that he is truly bad, yes, and he did play great during the cup run, but to me it’s no surprise that he has not maintained a high level of play.

I cringed when he got that contract.  If you look at his career trajectory, he looks like a Linus Ullmark level player.  He just had that one special season.

And it's guys like him having that 1 special season that keep people from trying to land a Price type guy.

It shouldn't be overlooked that Adams SC ring was earned with Ward & Gerber splitting duty.  Yeah, crud like that can work, IF you don't lose 1 single player during your playoff run until the penultimate game of the playoffs & he then gets replaced by Eric Cole.

Really expecting that next year's day 1 goaltending tandem will be 2 of Anderson, UPL, Levi, Portillo, or as a wildcard Tokarski.

[Curt]

38 minutes ago, Taro T said:

And it's guys like him having that 1 special season that keep people from trying to land a Price type guy.

It shouldn't be overlooked that Adams SC ring was earned with Ward & Gerber splitting duty.  Yeah, crud like that can work, IF you don't lose 1 single player during your playoff run until the penultimate game of the playoffs & he then gets replaced by Eric Cole.

Really expecting that next year's day 1 goaltending tandem will be 2 of Anderson, UPL, Levi, Portillo, or as a wildcard Tokarski.

I don’t know if Anderson will really be back.  Adams may try to bring in someone else.  Whoever the veteran is, I would be very surprised if significant assets are used to sign or acquire a goalie.  It will be a cheap veteran and UPL in the NHL, and Levi and Tokarski (or someone similar) in the AHL.

[dudacek]

12 hours ago, Curt said:

I don’t know if Anderson will really be back.  Adams may try to bring in someone else.  Whoever the veteran is, I would be very surprised if significant assets are used to sign or acquire a goalie.  It will be a cheap veteran and UPL in the NHL, and Levi and Tokarski (or someone similar) in the AHL.

I have a bad feeling you’re right, which is why we need to see 20 games from UPL to finish the season.

Let’s see evidence we need more, or reason to think that might work, instead of blind faith (again) on Adams’ part.

Semi-related, Husso impressed last night.

[GASabresIUFAN]

13 hours ago, Curt said:

I don’t know if Anderson will really be back.  Adams may try to bring in someone else.  Whoever the veteran is, I would be very surprised if significant assets are used to sign or acquire a goalie.  It will be a cheap veteran and UPL in the NHL, and Levi and Tokarski (or someone similar) in the AHL.

I disagree. UPL will almost definitely be in Buffalo but KA will go out and get a proven vet like Quick for multiple reasons.  First, we need to get to the cap floor.  Getting a goalie with a $5 mill contract is a great place to start.  Second, KA knows this team needs to take a significant steep forward next season and solidifying the goaltending is key to the turnaround.  Having a cheap vet along side UPL won’t work.  He needs someone who can carry the load of UPL can’t or gets injured again.

[sabresparaavida]

I’m hoping for a 1A type goalie on a 1-2 year contract. Not long enough to hamper the young goalies if they come on strong, and enough insurance that we’ll get some solid goalie play.

[French Collection]

3 minutes ago, sabresparaavida said:

I’m hoping for a 1A type goalie on a 1-2 year contract. Not long enough to hamper the young goalies if they come on strong, and enough insurance that we’ll get some solid goalie play.

Even if the young guys come on strong you should be able to move a goalie at the deadline, especially on an expiring contract.

[Curt]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I disagree. UPL will almost definitely be in Buffalo but KA will go out and get a proven vet like Quick for multiple reasons.  First, we need to get to the cap floor.  Getting a goalie with a $5 mill contract is a great place to start.  Second, KA knows this team needs to take a significant steep forward next season and solidifying the goaltending is key to the turnaround.  Having a cheap vet along side UPL won’t work.  He needs someone who can carry the load of UPL can’t or gets injured again.

Maybe he will get a proven vet.  I just don’t think that he will invest much in acquiring one, in terms of trade assets or contract term, so I will most likely be someone who is extremely mediocre or well past their prime.  I could see him overpaying a vet for a 1-2 year deal, I’m just not sure that guy will meet the criteria of proven vet who can carry the load and solidify the goalie position.  I think guys who fit that description will 1) have better options than Buffalo 2) aren’t available for trade 3) if they are, they are more expensive in trade than Adams is willing to give.

With regards to Quick specifically, I don’t see why LA will be moving him out.

[Weave]

2 hours ago, sabresparaavida said:

I’m hoping for a 1A type goalie on a 1-2 year contract. Not long enough to hamper the young goalies if they come on strong, and enough insurance that we’ll get some solid goalie play.

We don’t have any goalies to come on strong until they actually come on strong.  If it takes a 3-4yr contract to get a real goalie, do it.  They are a valuable commodity that can readily get moved if needed.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, Weave said:

We don’t have any goalies to come on strong until they actually come on strong.  If it takes a 3-4yr contract to get a real goalie, do it.  They are a valuable commodity that can readily get moved if needed.

I think many here and even KA seem to miss that point.  Quality goaltenders in this expanded NHL are hard to come by.  Getting a good goalie locked up for 3-4 years is a good thing.  Even if UPL and Levi or Portillo supplant him in the next couple of years, the signed player is still an asset that can get traded for other players, prospects or picks.   

[Taro T]

37 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I think many here and even KA seem to miss that point.  Quality goaltenders in this expanded NHL are hard to come by.  Getting a good goalie locked up for 3-4 years is a good thing.  Even if UPL and Levi or Portillo supplant him in the next couple of years, the signed player is still an asset that can get traded for other players, prospects or picks.   

Really don't believe that Adams doesn't realize that.  Rather, am pretty sure that he didn't particularly want quality goaltending this year.  The fear is that he might not want quality goaltending once again next year.  Hoping that the horrendous attendance & the prospect of still having very bad attendance next year forces his hand away from being a fringe Bedard sweepstakes player.  (By fringe meaning bottom 6, not bottom 16.)

We should know the answer to whether he wants good goaltending next season or is willing to wait yet 1 more year by mid-July.  Really don't have a good feel towards whether he will or won't, but either way we'll know long before October.

[GASabresIUFAN]

22 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Really don't believe that Adams doesn't realize that.  Rather, am pretty sure that he didn't particularly want quality goaltending this year.  The fear is that he might not want quality goaltending once again next year.  Hoping that the horrendous attendance & the prospect of still having very bad attendance next year forces his hand away from being a fringe Bedard sweepstakes player.  (By fringe meaning bottom 6, not bottom 16.)

We should know the answer to whether he wants good goaltending next season or is willing to wait yet 1 more year by mid-July.  Really don't have a good feel towards whether he will or won't, but either way we'll know long before October.

No question KA wanted this team to tank this season.  However, KA's statements when the Ullmark deal failed have me  questioning whether he does realize how important quality goaltending is to a rebuilding team.  I share your that he won't get the message and will instead rely on UPL and who knows what else.  I'm hopefully, as I noted above, that because of the cap situation he'll stumble on making the right decision and go get a Quick.  I doubt if we are taking a big cap hit from a team that it will be to costly.

Edited February 26, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No question KA wanted this team to tank this season.  However, KA's statements when the Ullmark deal failed have me continuingly to question whether he does realize how important quality goaltending is to a rebuilding team.  I share your that he won't get the message and will instead rely on UPL and who knows what else.  I'm hopefully, as I noted above, that because of the cap needs, he'll make a decision to get a Quick or similar.

Yeah, we're on the same page there.  Pretty sure his views are colored from experiences of the Canes, just not sure which is the one he drew lessons from; maybe both.

1.  A team can win a SC with mediocre goalies if thy can be hot often enough over up to 28 games.  Both Gerber and Ward got pulled on multiple occasions over that run, but they were good enough to beat the depleted opponents they faced.

2. A team w/ good systems & young players won't necessarily become habitual losers just because their goaltending is subpar for multiple seasons & that if the team does truly have good character & good systems & players that fixing the goaltending once the other pieces are there can make them contenders.  And once you're a legit contender anything is possible.

He himself lived the 1st example.  And his goalie coach lived the 2nd one.  Were this all occurring in a vacuum, expect we'd be in for 1 more year of "development" and no established NHL goaltending.  Attendance and a need to address it might be our saving grace.  Hoping that's the case at least.

Edited February 26, 2022 by Taro T
Cleaning up some typos