Sabres Sign UFA Goalie Eric Comrie 2 Years 1.8 Million AAV

[Cheektorado]

20 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Oh my god they signed Marty Biron😁

 

I have to think he will fit in with the young guys right away.   Seems like a good kid.  Best of luck!

[Flashsabre]

28 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Because there were more & seemingly better options available.  Look, Comrie MAY be the answer.  He wouldn't be the 1st backup given an opportunity to seize it and he won't be the last either.  But there is still a lot of question marks there.  IMHO, why he couldn't take the reins in any of his other 3 stops besides Winnipeg being a major one but one that the Sabres feel they know well enough and are OK w/ the answer.

And if the Sabres had Comrie, Murray, and Anderson or Husso instead would be much more confident that GTing WILL improve, not just should improve.

Husso is a backup who got to play some more games last season but faltered in the playoffs. Let’s not pretend Husso is a slam dunk. He had similar numbers as Comrie but with a larger sample size last year.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Flashsabre

[grinreaper]

22 hours ago, nucci said:

expected by whom? Still doesn't tell you what kind of goalie he is. 

With numbers like that he's either really evil or just a castoff from NJ.

[Doohicksie]

47 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Because there were more & seemingly better options available.  Look, Comrie MAY be the answer.  He wouldn't be the 1st backup given an opportunity to seize it and he won't be the last either.  But there is still a lot of question marks there.  IMHO, why he couldn't take the reins in any of his other 3 stops besides Winnipeg being a major one but one that the Sabres feel they know well enough and are OK w/ the answer.

And if the Sabres had Comrie, Murray, and Anderson or Husso instead would be much more confident that GTing WILL improve, not just should improve.

He tried to get Murray; that was out of Kevyn's control as Murray nixed the trade.  It's unknown whether Husso had any interest at all in signing with Buffalo but again, that may have been out of KA's control.

You don't know anything about the moves that weren't made.  Were they even available to Adams?  In Murray's case we know the answer is no.  Husso may have indicated that he wouldn't sign with the Sabres; you just don't know.  Or maybe Adams preferred Comrie over Husso, who knows?  (The analytics department might have contributed to a preference for Comrie... but we won't see the specifics of that.)

It's frightfully easy to criticize Kevyn's moves or lack thereof when you don't know what really went down.  I'm constantly put off by people who seem to think the NHL is a video game and a GM can build whatever team he wants when the reality is very different.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Doohickie

[msw2112]

15 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Why are people comparing a NFL player to a NHL goalie? 

 

Because the post that compared the two was about how Kevyn Adams (a NHL GM who works in Buffalo for owner Terry Pegula) is using a similar team-building strategy to the one used by Brandon Beane (a NFL GM who works in Buffalo for owner Terry Pegula).

Poyer was an example of a veteran player signed by Beane who didn't play much for his previous teams, but signed with Buffalo at a reasonable price with hopes to get more playing time and develop into a good starting-caliber player.  Comrie is an example of a veteran player signed by Adams who didn't play much for his previous teams, but signed with Buffalo at a reasonable price with hopes to get more playing time and develop into a good starting-caliber player.

It worked out very well for Beane and Poyer.  I think we can all agree that we would be extremely happy if it worked out for Adams and Comrie.

[grinreaper]

15 hours ago, msw2112 said:

Was Jordan Poyer a pro bowl safety when the Bills acquired him?  No.  He was a 7th round draft pick out of Oregon State that had never started more than 6 games in an NFL season.  He had 4 years in the league by that point, but had only started 10 total games.  The Comrie situation is similar in that he's been in the league for a few years (6) but only started a handful of games - 24 total with no more than 16 in an 80+ game season.  Thus the comparison.  Do I know if Comrie will achieve the success that Poyer has?  No.  Of course not.  But the type of signing is very similar.  Both guys are veterans who have been in the league for several years, but have not played much.  They were signed for a resonable price to come to Buffalo to become starters with the hopes that they would realize their potential when given the opportunity to play a lot.  It worked out well with Poyer.  It remains to be seen with Comrie.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PoyeJo00.htm

https://www.nhl.com/player/eric-comrie-8477480

 

I get what you are saying but Poyer has a dynamic partner to help him out. Who's going to cover the deep net for Comrie? 

[Curt]

Just now, grinreaper said:

I get what you are saying but Poyer has a dynamic partner to help him out. Who's going to cover the deep net for Comrie? 

Why are you being like this?  There is no position called deep net in hockey.

Who is going to help Comrie?  Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Lyubushkin, Jokiharju and Bryson.

You could literally spend all day finding negative things to say and filling up this thread with pointless drivel, instead of just letting it go that a comparison between a move by the Bills and a move by the Sabres has some merit.  Doesn’t mean that it will work out as well, buts a move made with a similar idea in mind.

[grinreaper]

5 minutes ago, Curt said:

Why are you being like this?  There is no position called deep net in hockey.

Who is going to help Comrie?  Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Lyubushkin, Jokiharju and Bryson.

You could literally spend all day finding negative things to say and filling up this thread with pointless drivel, instead of just letting it go that a comparison between a move by the Bills and a move by the Sabres has some merit.  Doesn’t mean that it will work out as well, buts a move made with a similar idea in mind.

My apologies. I didn't know you needed an emoji to ascertain if someone was being sarcastic or not. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

He tried to get Murray; that was out of Kevyn's control as Murray nixed the trade.  It's unknown whether Husso had any interest at all in signing with Buffalo but again, that may have been out of KA's control.

You don't know anything about the moves that weren't made.  Were they even available to Adams?  In Murray's case we know the answer is no.  Husso may have indicated that he wouldn't sign with the Sabres; you just don't know.  Or maybe Adams preferred Comrie over Husso, who knows?  (The analytics department might have contributed to a preference for Comrie... but we won't see the specifics of that.)

It's frightfully easy to criticize Kevyn's moves or lack thereof when you don't know what really went down.  I'm constantly put off by people who seem to think the NHL is a video game and a GM can build whatever team he wants when the reality is very different.

The pat answer is to spend them into signing, especially with the "limitless" cap space the Sabres have.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

He tried to get Murray; that was out of Kevyn's control as Murray nixed the trade.  It's unknown whether Husso had any interest at all in signing with Buffalo but again, that may have been out of KA's control.

You don't know anything about the moves that weren't made.  Were they even available to Adams?  In Murray's case we know the answer is no.  Husso may have indicated that he wouldn't sign with the Sabres; you just don't know.  Or maybe Adams preferred Comrie over Husso, who knows?  (The analytics department might have contributed to a preference for Comrie... but we won't see the specifics of that.)

It's frightfully easy to criticize Kevyn's moves or lack thereof when you don't know what really went down.  I'm constantly put off by people who seem to think the NHL is a video game and a GM can build whatever team he wants when the reality is very different.

To the bolded, nor do you.

Again, at the point this deal happened, it's probably the best case scenario.  But the other have nots of the East all got theirs done sooner.  Could Buffalo been in on any of them?  WE don't know & it's real easy to say from the sidelines that they couldn't have been.  Which is speculating just as much. 

Look, overall, have liked many of the moves Adams has made and this one could work out.  REALLLLY hoping it does.  He seems like a really good kid & we're all due getting a chance to have something nice for a change.  But, until a Sabres goalie starts playing above average, Adams grade is incomplete at best.

[Edit: PS - And, have said that grabbing the goalie in the 2nd was a good thing though manynhere didn't like it.  The naysayers reasoning being it was too early & there were too many good players still available to justify it.  Mine being, it was a position of need, the team had him rated as worth that pick, and they'd already gotten 3 skaters.  You can only eventually get so many prospects into a lineup; possibly missing out on one to finally actually have a semblance of a pipeline was worth it IMHO.

And that same rationale is why my grade on the pickup would be higher had it occurred earlier.  Coming after "everybody else" was partnered off leaves this as feeling like they grabbed the last girl not on the dance floor even though she wasn't a top choice.  It's reminding a bit of the Hutton signing which did not work out.  And, again, not saying this pick won't work out; actually really want it to, but the track record the past 2 years still leaves a lot of concerns.  We'll know soon enough if it was a good pick.  Would be really friggin' nice to finally land an honest to goodness NHL goalie.  They haven't had a full time healthy one since trading Miller.]

Edited July 14, 2022 by Taro T

[PromoTheRobot]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

To the bolded, nor do you.

Again, at the point this deal happened, it's probably the best case scenario.  But the other have nots of the East all got theirs done sooner.  Could Buffalo been in on any of them?  WE don't know & it's real easy to say from the sidelines that they couldn't have been.  Which is speculating just as much. 

Look, overall, have liked many of the moves Adams has made and this one could work out.  REALLLLY hoping it does.  He seems like a really good kid & we're all due getting a chance to have something nice for a change.  But, until a Sabres goalie starts playing above average, Adams grade is incomplete at best.

Do you really? Wouldn't it be more fun to be right?

[Doohicksie]

9 minutes ago, Taro T said:

To the bolded, nor do you.

Right.  So I don't criticize KA over them.

[nucci]

37 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

My apologies. I didn't know you needed an emoji to ascertain if someone was being sarcastic or not. 

you don't but it helps

[Taro T]

 

11 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Do you really? Wouldn't it be more fun to be right?

No.  Watching a successful team would be way more fun; you probably already knew that, but stated it anyway just so there is no confusion.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Taro T

[grinreaper]

12 minutes ago, nucci said:

you don't but it helps

Well, I just appreciate that he explained to me that there is no position in hockey called the "deep net". I've been taking lessons from Tre'Davious White and he had me setting up behind the goalie, but favoring the side that the goalie is the weakest. It was working out fine until the Angels in the Outfield picked up my contract and I left Ryan Miller out to dry when I wasn't there. I think that was the first recorded incident of his WTF wave. 

[Ctaeth]

I think the Sabre's success this season is likely going to hinge upon how well Comrie plays.  If he plays good, there's a chance at the playoffs.  If he doesn't, well we are probably headed back to the lottery.  Here's hoping for the former and not the latter!  It would appear he has been pretty good the last few seasons in spot duty, so I think there is a fair chance that he looks more like an NHL starter than not. 

[Curt]

46 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

Well, I just appreciate that he explained to me that there is no position in hockey called the "deep net". I've been taking lessons from Tre'Davious White and he had me setting up behind the goalie, but favoring the side that the goalie is the weakest. It was working out fine until the Angels in the Outfield picked up my contract and I left Ryan Miller out to dry when I wasn't there. I think that was the first recorded incident of his WTF wave. 

 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

[Edit: PS - And, have said that grabbing the goalie in the 2nd was a good thing though manynhere didn't like it.  The naysayers reasoning being it was too early & there were too many good players still available to justify it.  Mine being, it was a position of need, the team had him rated as worth that pick, and they'd already gotten 3 skaters.  You can only eventually get so many prospects into a lineup; possibly missing out on one to finally actually have a semblance of a pipeline was worth it IMHO.

And that same rationale is why my grade on the pickup would be higher had it occurred earlier.  Coming after "everybody else" was partnered off leaves this as feeling like they grabbed the last girl not on the dance floor even though she wasn't a top choice.  It's reminding a bit of the Hutton signing which did not work out.  And, again, not saying this pick won't work out; actually really want it to, but the track record the past 2 years still leaves a lot of concerns.  We'll know soon enough if it was a good pick.  Would be really friggin' nice to finally land an honest to goodness NHL goalie.  They haven't had a full time healthy one since trading Miller.]

Here's the thing, they shouldn't have had Leinonen rated that high and that is the issue. It doesn't matter it was a position of need because as shown in the NHL basically every year, you can just trade for a goalie with those other prospects you are talking about that you now dont have. Already getting 3 forwards when you need RHD so you take a goalie project that early is just bad asset management and it is the one real critique of that draft.

The other part is the faulty logic at the end. We have 2 RHD that matter, Albert Lyckasen and Vsevolod Komarov are it. So when you say oh well it doesn't matter because only so many spots, we literally passed on the position we needed most to reach on a goalie prospect when we could have gotten any goalie prospect later and they would be basically the same as Leinonen because this was a terrible goaltender class. Noah Warren, Mattias Havelid, Seamus Casey, Christian Kyrou, Tristan Luneau, were all available and would have significantly helped the RHD pipeline but instead we have a project goalie when we could have taken one in the 6th like Jakub Vondras who would be the exact same level of prospect goalie as Leinonen.

You can't draft that early solely on need and the goalie was picked for need because there isn't a logical reason to take him. I am just glad with all the talk around considering Leinonen in the first, their board was clearly deep enough that Kulich still outranked him. I couldn't begin to explain my level of frustration if they took Leinonen at 28. Feels like the Sabres old scouting reared its ugly head and for whatever reason got to yell forth a name.

[grinreaper]

34 minutes ago, Curt said:

 

See, I'm already improving your sense of humor although no amount of flirting will get me to turn into a Leaf's fan. 

[Taro T]

15 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Here's the thing, they shouldn't have had Leinonen rated that high and that is the issue. It doesn't matter it was a position of need because as shown in the NHL basically every year, you can just trade for a goalie with those other prospects you are talking about that you now dont have. Already getting 3 forwards when you need RHD so you take a goalie project that early is just bad asset management and it is the one real critique of that draft.

The other part is the faulty logic at the end. We have 2 RHD that matter, Albert Lyckasen and Vsevolod Komarov are it. So when you say oh well it doesn't matter because only so many spots, we literally passed on the position we needed most to reach on a goalie prospect when we could have gotten any goalie prospect later and they would be basically the same as Leinonen because this was a terrible goaltender class. Noah Warren, Mattias Havelid, Seamus Casey, Christian Kyrou, Tristan Luneau, were all available and would have significantly helped the RHD pipeline but instead we have a project goalie when we could have taken one in the 6th like Jakub Vondras who would be the exact same level of prospect goalie as Leinonen.

You can't draft that early solely on need and the goalie was picked for need because there isn't a logical reason to take him. I am just glad with all the talk around considering Leinonen in the first, their board was clearly deep enough that Kulich still outranked him. I couldn't begin to explain my level of frustration if they took Leinonen at 28. Feels like the Sabres old scouting reared its ugly head and for whatever reason got to yell forth a name.

Fair enough.  Doubt we will agree, which is fine.  But the other thing I'd meant to mention was by making the pick when they did, they were still getting THEIR choice of all the goalies.  Whether they were right or wrong will be seen in the next 1/2 decade or so, but they got THEIR guy.  And at this point, until they prove otherwise will trust their talent evaluation.  They effectively used a 1st or 2nd on Levi as well & that one looks like at a minimum the ball is in the field of play and they'll end up on base and it still could be a home run.  Them appearing to get that right buys them more faith that they might've gotten this one right, too.

And though they really do need RHD's in the system, goalie was a bigger need system-wide.  And don't want them in the position where they then have to trade for somebody else's prospect goalie.  Would rather they follow the old SJ model and use prospect goalies to fill other holes after the big squad is set at 1 & 2.  Combine that greater need w/ having 3 2nd rounders next year in what should be a deep draft, expect they can get the RHD pipeline restocked next year.  And then moving forward, they should have the full gamut stocked & can finally truly get back to BPA when drafting.

And back to the thread topic, the reason it would've been more reassuring to see them land anybody, including Comrie, earlier is then we'd know they got THEIR guy.  He's apparently at best their 2nd choice; would've been nice for them to figure out earlier that Murray was NFW to coming either to Buffalo, working w/ Bales, or both.  Maybe they end up w/ somebody higher on their list if they'd've been able to do that extra bit of homework.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Taro T

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Fair enough.  Doubt we will agree, which is fine.  But the other thing I'd meant to mention was by making the pick when they did, they were still getting THEIR choice of all the goalies.  Whether they were right or wrong will be seen in the next 1/2 decade or so, but they got THEIR guy.  And at this point, until they prove otherwise will trust their talent evaluation.  They effectively used a 1st or 2nd on Levi as well & that one looks like at a minimum the ball is in the field of play and they'll end up on base and it still could be a home run.  Them appearing to get that right buys them more faith that they might've gotten this one right, too.

And though they really do need RHD's in the system, goalie was a bigger need system-wide.  And don't want them in the position where they then have to trade for somebody else's prospect goalie.  Would rather they follow the old SJ model and use prospect goalies to fill other holes after the big squad is set at 1 & 2.  Combine that greater need w/ having 3 2nd rounders next year in what should be a deep draft, expect they can get the RHD pipeline restocked next year.  And then moving forward, they should have the full gamut stocked & can finally truly get back to BPA when drafting.

And back to the thread topic, the reason it would've been more reassuring to see them land anybody, including Comrie, earlier is then we'd know they got THEIR guy.  He's apparently at best their 2nd choice; would've been nice for them to figure out earlier that Murray was NFW to coming either to Buffalo, working w/ Bales, or both.  Maybe they end up w/ somebody higher on their list if they'd've been able to do that extra bit of homework.

No it wasn't.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

 

Ginger alert.

CODE RED!!

CODE RED!!

❤️❤️

Speaking of which, I miss @biodork ... come in @biodork !!

[Taro T]

33 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

No it wasn't.

Will agree to disagree.

[Malazan]

22 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Will agree to disagree.

I disagree to agree to disagree

[Carmel Corn]

Something I continue to ponder....there seems to be a lot of opinions that the NHL lacks enough #1 caliber goalies.  There also seems to be a lot of people who think that you don't spend a high draft pick (1st round or 2nd round) on one for various reasons including a long development timeline. 

I don't necessarily disagree with those opinions, but what intrigues me is what happened over time to weaken the goalie pipeline such that we no longer see 1st round picks and kids playing immediately in the NHL?  I know it's been decades since we had a Tom Barasso situation, but why does it seem like few if any draft picks are able to make more immediate contributions in the NHL?  What's changed?