With Anderson out for a couple more weeks, is it smart to keep UPL in Rochester?

[JohnC]

I'm in the camp that UPL should be getting a heavy workload in Rochester. Extensive playing time and maybe a playoff run with Rochester would serve him well to compete for a spot with the Sabres next year. The more important issue for the player and the franchise is what is best for his development. Playing a lot in Rochester would be better than playing fewer games in Buffalo at this stage of his career. 

[Gabrielor]

Yes., Keep them all in Roch right now.

 

Trade for a goalie to punt Dell.

[Indabuff]

30 minutes ago, Amerks8796 said:

Aside from the last week, UPL has been one on the worst goalies in the AHL over the last 3 years. Calling him up would be a terrible idea. 

JC, that's depressing.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

Per this morning's Buffalo News, Anderson is out for a while.  (The article is paywalled as usual.)  The team wants to keep UPL in Rochester for development.

I don't like this.  Surprisingly, this team actually could make the playoffs with good goaltending.  I have little faith in Tokarski, and none whatsoever in Dell.  I don't have that much in UPL, either, but he's not as bad as the other two.

I just think they're wasting an opportunity here.

 

EDIT:  I was unclear.  I don't think Adams should trade for a goalie.  I do think that UPL, while not great, is better than the other two options, and I think he should be in Buffalo.  

SECOND EDIT:  Changed thread title to clarify what I'm getting at.

So what are you really trying to say?  😉

In my mind, I think the ranking is Toker..........UPL..Dell. 

I haven't seen UPL at the NHL level this year so that's a default rating.  The reason I have Toker that much higher is that I don't view him as "delicate" (which is maybe where UPL is mentally).  If he has a bad game he'll bounce back; he's shown that.  I don't know if UPL could handle getting shelled at the NHL level just as he's getting the AHL figured out.  I'm not sure I'm ready to put UPL to the test just yet.  I really don't give a damn about Dell's mental state since he's not part of the long term plan, so if I were KA I'd probably keep the goaltending just as it is for now (unless I can swing a favorable deal to bring in outside help).

 

[Amerks8796]

10 minutes ago, Indabuff said:

JC, that's depressing.

.887 save percentage in 33 games. The sample size could be bigger, but that’s bad. Those are 1980s numbers. Even a .900 save percentage these days is pretty bad, and he’s well below that. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Amerks8796

[PromoTheRobot]

19 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

There is always someone available especially in the off-season.  The question is cost.  KA didn’t want to spend anything on goaltending and got nothing.  
 

 

Who did we pass on that is playing well now... that would have signed here?

[Amerks8796]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Who did we pass on that is playing well now... that would have signed here?

Connor Ingram was on waivers, and I think he would’ve been worth a look. 

[Zamboni]

Keep him in Rochester for the various reasons already typed by others.

[Pimlach]

55 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Yeah, that's what I'm disagreeing with.

UPL is finally starting to look like a decent AHL goalie over the past 4 games.  Leave him down there and  let him build on it.  

Call up Howser and send Dell back to the farm.  

Edited November 16, 2021 by Pimlach

[Thorner]

4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Who did we pass on that is playing well now... that would have signed here?

Provide me with all of the contacts Adams has, and I'll let you know. 

That argument doesn't work. The other side of that coin is, "show me a list of the goalies who announced they wouldn't come here?"

We don't have the information. We can judge the results. 

[Amerks8796]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

UPL is finally starting to look like a decent AHL goalie over the past 4 games.  Leave him down there and him build on it.  

Call up Howser and send Dell back to the farm.  

I think people really need to take a step back with Dell. He’s played 100 NHL games with respectable numbers. He has elite AHL numbers. Michael Houser has barely played above the ECHL. Please, people, get a grip. They’re not calling Houser up, who is on an AHL contract anyway. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Amerks8796

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Zamboni said:

Ryan Miller… You’re the next contestant on “ The price is $750,000!”

😂

Not "The $750,000 Pyramid"?

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, Amerks8796 said:

I think people really need to take a step back with Dell. He’s played 100 NHL games with respectable numbers. He has elite AHL numbers. Michael Houser has barely played above the ECHL. Please, people, get a grip. They’re not calling Houser up, who is on an AHL contract anyway. 

Dell’s last 6-7 NHL games are absolutely terrible, including the Leafs game.  The first 90 or whatever games are not indicative of the player he is now.  

If Dell flounders, then call up Houser, is that better.?    Most important, leave UPL in the AHL for now, he is just starting to play good AHL Hockey 

[Amerks8796]

Just now, Pimlach said:

Dell’s last 6-7 NHL games are absolutely terrible, including the Leafs game.  The first 90 or whatever games are not indicative of the player he is now.  

If Dell flounders, then call up Houser, is that better.?    Most important, leave UPL in the AHL for now, he is just starting to play good AHL Hockey 

No, it’s not better. He’s on an AHL contract. They’re not calling him up. Not only because they literally can’t contractually, but also because he’s not an NHL goalie. 

[Radar]

41 minutes ago, darksabre said:

It's compelling, though, that Ullmark has been pretty mediocre for Boston so far this season. At the moment Adams' choice to walk away looks shrewd. We'll see how it looks as the season goes on but...

Ulmark ,in my opinion, was up and down when he was here. Could look great for stretches then not so great. Also he seemed prone to injury. I wasn't ready personally to give him what he got. Just me.

[JohnC]

26 minutes ago, Indabuff said:

JC, that's depressing.

I'm not sure if you directed your comment to me but I will still respond. 

Will UPL become a mainstay goalie in the NHL? I honestly don't know. That's why if you are going to error in handling him it is better to error on the side of giving him more time at the lower ranks in order to see if he progresses. It could be years before things click for him or it could be a shorter and quicker development. It also might not ever happen. Especially with goalies you just don't know. So even if he struggles in the AHL that doesn't mean that his playing experience is wasted. This is a case where waiting is better than rushing. Sometimes patience is rewarded and sometimes it doesn't produce what you expect. If you are going to error it should be by giving more time than less. 

[Eleven]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Will UPL become a mainstay goalie in the NHL?

No.  So might as well use him now.

[Pimlach]

9 minutes ago, Amerks8796 said:

No, it’s not better. He’s on an AHL contract. They’re not calling him up. Not only because they literally can’t contractually, but also because he’s not an NHL goalie. 

They played him last year and they updated his contract to do so. The contract is but a formality.   He actually played much better than Hutton last season.   If Dell fails (plays like Hutton), Houser should be considered if a 3rd goalie is needed.  

I hope your right on Dell. Against the Leafs he looked small and out of position.  They scored 5 but could have had many more.  His work with the stick is the worst I’ve seen in the NHL, EVER.  

[Amerks8796]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

They played him last year and they updated his contract to do so. The contract is but a formality.   He actually played much better than Hutton last season.   If Dell fails (plays like Hutton), Houser should be considered if a 3rd goalie is needed.  

I hope your right on Dell. Against the Leafs he looked small and out of position.  They scored 5 but could have had many more.  His work with the stick is the worst I’ve seen in the NHL, EVER.  

Because they had no choice. They ran out of goalies and needed to sign him. That’s unlikely to happen again. 
 

 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

No.  So might as well use him now.

[Sabel79]

I don't really believe that UPL in net at this moment in time would be an improvement over what we have in the long run.  Keep him on the farm.

The position does really need to be addressed in general, though.  

[Ruff Around The Edges]

Was thinking maybe there was a goalie out there that a team would like to move for salary cap relief that has say a year left that the Sabres can get for a very cheap price, but even looking at that, there isn't much if anything out there that KA can pursue.

[LGR4GM]

Alex Nedeljkovic was the goalie Adams probably should have been in on but wasn't. 

[SabresVet]

This is a development season for the Sabres and their Rochester prospects.  No sense in throwing the individual player plans out the window because your 40 year old goaltender will miss some time.  

At the same time, losing is bad for the development of the young players on the Sabres' roster who may be a part of their future.  And bad goaltending contributes to that.  It's going to be worse result-wise for the position to remain in the hands of Tokarski and Dell.   

They'd be best served finding someone for this season who can handle more minutes, but that should have been clear during the off-season.  Planning there is proving to be worse than originally thought going into the season. 

[Taro T]

Had UPL played like he has the past 3 games the entire year or for at least 1 month, would absolutely give him a chance to show he's ready for bigger things.  But he's not been a tire fire for only ONE single week.

The odds of setting him back getting shelled in Pittsburgh is just too great.  IF he excels this week again on the farm, would consider bringing him up for the BJ's game or letting him travel to Detroit the following weekend.