Eric Comrie Completes Conditioning Stint

[Taro T]

18 hours ago, Marvin said:

We can send UPL to Rochester and let him know he will be back up no later than the TDL.

He is playing w/ confidence for literally the 1st time since he had surgery on his hips.  Why risk messing that up to guarantee protecting a 28 yo 3rd/4th liner that Granato can't find a way to get into a game at present?  Get that everyone wants to see playoffs this year & don't want to risk losing a guy for nothing, but who gives them a better chance of getting there; a confident UPL platooning w/ Comrie/Anderson or the 14th F who could be "blocking" Rousek &/or Kulich a month or so from now?

Now, if UPL turns back into a pumpkin, sure send him down, but is that going to happen in the next week?And that's the timetable a decision has to be made on.

[Pimlach]

23 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Shannon The Hockey Guy seems to think they will trade Comrie.  "I think Comrie ends up on the market.  I don't think you move on from Luukkonen and  certainly don't think you move on from Anderson.  They've both played really, really well."

 

Trade Comrie and then we are one injury away from disaster.  Trade Comrie for what?   He is more valuable to have as a 3rd goalie, and he will be needed for next year, and he is on a good contract.   

[Doohicksie]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I agree.  One trade idea would be Anderson to a team looking for goalie depth, for a waiver exempt goalie that's currently in the A and close to promoting.  I'm not sure any team would give up their Goalie of the Future for a playoff run though.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Doohickie

[Marvin]

17 minutes ago, Taro T said:

He is playing w/ confidence for literally the 1st time since he had surgery on his hips.  Why risk messing that up to guarantee protecting a 28 yo 3rd/4th liner that Granato can't find a way to get into a game at present?  Get that everyone wants to see playoffs this year & don't want to risk losing a guy for nothing, but who gives them a better chance of getting there; a confident UPL platooning w/ Comrie/Anderson or the 14th F who could be "blocking" Rousek &/or Kulich a month or so from now?

Now, if UPL turns back into a pumpkin, sure send him down, but is that going to happen in the next week?And that's the timetable a decision has to be made on.

Let us think this through.  Let us assume that Pekka-Luukkonen keeps playing well, as I expect him too.  Reasons below.

There is no way that we will carry only 6 D if at all possible, so we need to cut back at F or in G.

We have been extraordinarily lucky at forward with respect to injuries.  We could send, say, Hinostroza down and carry 3 goaltenders and hope that nobody claims him and that we continue our injury luck.

We can trade Comrie, probably on the cheap.  That is almost as unappealing as carrying only 6 D.

We can ask Anderson if he wants to be traded.  He did not want to last year; I can't think of a reason that he would do it this year.

You can send UPL back to Rochester.

Now, I think there is something about Mike Bales that keeps UPL focused on his strengths and works with him mentally that he just does not get in Rochester.  I do not believe that it is an accident that he plays better in Buffalo than he does in Rochester.  That is not a criticism against Rochester's goalie coaches; it more speaks to how Bales explains things to UPL that just clicks for him.

Now, I am willing to send UPL to Rochester for 6 weeks and then call him up after the TDL.  That is just my estimation of the likeliest needs of the team before then.  I might be wrong.

[Doohicksie]

I think they waive Hinostroza and no one picks him up, and Comrie stays up.

Expected Buffalo's take.  Pretty noncommittal.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Let us think this through.  Let us assume that Pekka-Luukkonen keeps playing well, as I expect him too.  Reasons below.

There is no way that we will carry only 6 D if at all possible, so we need to cut back at F or in G.

We have been extraordinarily lucky at forward with respect to injuries.  We could send, say, Hinostroza down and carry 3 goaltenders and hope that nobody claims him and that we continue our injury luck.

We can trade Comrie, probably on the cheap.  That is almost as unappealing as carrying only 6 D.

We can ask Anderson if he wants to be traded.  He did not want to last year; I can't think of a reason that he would do it this year.

You can send UPL back to Rochester.

Now, I think there is something about Mike Bales that keeps UPL focused on his strengths and works with him mentally that he just does not get in Rochester.  I do not believe that it is an accident that he plays better in Buffalo than he does in Rochester.  That is not a criticism against Rochester's goalie coaches; it more speaks to how Bales explains things to UPL that just clicks for him.

Now, I am willing to send UPL to Rochester for 6 weeks and then call him up after the TDL.  That is just my estimation of the likeliest needs of the team before then.  I might be wrong.

The trade deadline isn't until March 3.  Comrie was loaned to Ra-cha-cha on December 31, so he has to be back on Junuary 14 at the latest.  That puts UPL in Ra-cha-cha for at least 7 weeks if not even longer as Comrie looks solid in Ra-cha-cha & won't need 2 full weeks to be in game shape.

Just can't see a player's GM messing w/ a guy that has earned the opportunity to stay up that also fits into their future plans to guarantee the 14th F who doesn't have a future in Buffalo remains a pressbox fixture on the Sabres.

[steveoath]

Can UPL be "sent to Roch" on paper. But stays with the Sabres? Then plays as part of a rotation with Comrie and Anderson? 

 

 

[Marvin]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The trade deadline isn't until March 3.  Comrie was loaned to Ra-cha-cha on December 31, so he has to be back on Junuary 14 at the latest.  That puts UPL in Ra-cha-cha for at least 7 weeks if not even longer as Comrie looks solid in Ra-cha-cha & won't need 2 full weeks to be in game shape.

Just can't see a player's GM messing w/ a guy that has earned the opportunity to stay up that also fits into their future plans to guarantee the 14th F who doesn't have a future in Buffalo remains a pressbox fixture on the Sabres.

That is a reasonable analysis.  Not my bias, but I get it.

4 minutes ago, steveoath said:

Can UPL be "sent to Roch" on paper. But stays with the Sabres? Then plays as part of a rotation with Comrie and Anderson? 

 

 

Could someone who understands the SPC chime in here.

[Taro T]

9 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I think they waive Hinostroza and no one picks him up, and Comrie stays up.

Expected Buffalo's take.  Pretty noncommittal.

Decent overview of the situation, but he misstatements 2 minor points.

1.  Comrie comes back on the 14th.  He played on December 31, so his 14th day in Ro-cha-cha is January 13, not 14 & he needs to be a Sabres or waived on the 14th.

2.  That leaves 12 days max, not a few weeks, to make a decision.

 

And with it having been such a journey to get UPL playing like they've needed him to play really wouldn't send him back down.  But, will say, if Adams, Granato, & Bales all decide sending UPL back down is the right call will accept that it is.  Granato has been pretty spot on in his evaluations & trust in his players to date.

[shrader]

20 hours ago, Taro T said:

No way would Adams do that to him.  Far more likely he suffers an "injury" putting him on IR for the foreseeable future.

Doubt that happens either.

Should the Sabres not suffer an injury at F before the conditioning assignment is over, Hinostroza goes to waivers & hopefully Ra-cha-cha.  (Or Adams works out a courtesy trade for him if 1 is available.)

It really comes down to what Anderson wants. Does he want to play hockey or does he want to have his ass glued to a seat in the press box? The latter feels worse to me, but everyone is different. 

[Taro T]

One thing we all seem to be forgetting is this situation - UPL earning a spot on the roster after a stint on an injury callup, has been a possibility since day 1.

Expect that though we're fretting, Adams has had a plan for how to react to the injured guy getting healthy from day 1.  We'll know what it is in a couple of weeks at the latest.

[Eleven]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

UPL earning a spot on the roster after a stint on an injury callup, has been a possibility since day 1.

He has earned it and I don't think it's something we forgot--I think it's something we were hoping for.  

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, Eleven said:

He has earned it and I don't think it's something we forgot--I think it's something we were hoping for.  

True.  Ended up wording the post awkwardly.  The point of the post was that Adams has realized this was a possibility since the day the 3rd goalie was in house and has had a plan on how to accommodate that for as long.  Expect it being Comrie that got injured rather than Anderson might've been a bit of a twist but not totally out of left field.

Preparing for this possibility has been 1 more thing Adams has been doing all along.

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Preparing for this possibility has been 1 more thing Adams has been doing all along.

Insert the word "wrong" or "wrongly" in there and yeah.

[Porous Five Hole]

I think UPL is going to Rochester.

The guy has not been able to stay healthy and nothing suggests he can be a workhorse yet. Remember, he has yet to survive the AHL weekend schedule playing two out of three without injury. 
Aside from his one healthy year in the OHL in 2018-19 (53 games played), his durability has been an issue:

2019-2020: 33 GP (for reference, the Amerks played 62 games)

2020-2021: 31 GP (Amerks played 29 games, UPL was healthy enough for 14). UPL got four games in Buffalo and ten in Finland)

2021-2022: 44 GP (Amerks standard 76 game schedule, and UPL was injured for the entire playoffs)

2022-2023: 20 GP so far.  
 

GMKA says UPL has to play. I agree.
But Anderson isn’t going to be physically able enough to be a 1B and UPL hasn’t been able to maintain this workload before.

We all know Anderson isn’t going anywhere. So it’s Comrie’s crease when he’s healthy (with Anderson spelling the crease as able) and UPL can be load managed to hopefully get through a season for the first time as a pro in ROC.  

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, Marvin said:

Let us think this through.  Let us assume that Pekka-Luukkonen keeps playing well, as I expect him too.  Reasons below.

There is no way that we will carry only 6 D if at all possible, so we need to cut back at F or in G.

We have been extraordinarily lucky at forward with respect to injuries.  We could send, say, Hinostroza down and carry 3 goaltenders and hope that nobody claims him and that we continue our injury luck.

We can trade Comrie, probably on the cheap.  That is almost as unappealing as carrying only 6 D.

We can ask Anderson if he wants to be traded.  He did not want to last year; I can't think of a reason that he would do it this year.

You can send UPL back to Rochester.

Now, I think there is something about Mike Bales that keeps UPL focused on his strengths and works with him mentally that he just does not get in Rochester.  I do not believe that it is an accident that he plays better in Buffalo than he does in Rochester.  That is not a criticism against Rochester's goalie coaches; it more speaks to how Bales explains things to UPL that just clicks for him.

Now, I am willing to send UPL to Rochester for 6 weeks and then call him up after the TDL.  That is just my estimation of the likeliest needs of the team before then.  I might be wrong.

I had not thought about the bolded.  Maybe the things can be improved in Rochester with respect to goalie tending .  Maybe Bales makes periodic appearances there if he isn't already doing so.  

If UPL keeps playing like this we have to ride him and let him bloom.  But we really do not know what we have with Comrie either since many of his games were played with a makeshift defense and still figuring things out.  With Anderson's age, and UPL injury history, having a third goalie is necessary to stay in the race.  Next year Anderson retires and having Comrie on a good contract is part of the plan all along.  I can't see Adams trading him, especially after offering him a shot at #1 if he signed.   

[Eleven]

3 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

I think UPL is going to Rochester.

I think you're right, and I think it's a huge mistake.  He's maintaining his workload now and the team is winning.  He plays better in Buffalo (with a better defense, of course) than in Rochester and it's time to give him the reins and see if he can drive the wagon.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

I think UPL is going to Rochester.

 

I'm going to say no. Sabres roll with 3 goalies.

Edited January 3, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I'm going to say no. Sabres roll with 3 goalies.

I prefer this 

[Archie Lee]

I think UPL goes down when Comrie comes up and as long as Comrie/Anderson give us good goaltending and the team keeps winning it is kind of a non issue. If Comrie doesn’t play well or Anderson falters then a decision needs to be made. 
 

This stint for UPL has rekindled confidence that he is a legit NHL goalie. It affirms that the plan of Comrie/Anderson this year and then Comrie/UPL next year was logical. We just need Comrie to hold up his end now and play at a higher level with the team doing the same in front of him. 

[Amerks8796]

13 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I'm going to say no. Sabres roll with 3 goalies.

The only fact we know is KA saying over and over that UPL needs to play a lot this season wherever he is. A 3 goalie rotation probably isn’t going to be the best for that.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Amerks8796 said:

The only fact we know is KA saying over and over that UPL needs to play a lot this season wherever he is. A 3 goalie rotation probably isn’t going to be the best for that.

Worse than a UPL demotion to the AHL? 

The best case would be for Anderson to retire early, but it's too soon to know if a Comrie/UPL tandem will carry this team.

[Amerks8796]

19 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Worse than a UPL demotion to the AHL? 

The best case would be for Anderson to retire early, but it's too soon to know if a Comrie/UPL tandem will carry this team.

I definitely don’t think they want to send UPL down. I agree with everyone who says he earned a spot. But sometimes roster management makes hard decisions for you. Guess we’ll find out soon enough. UPL has to continue to play well. If he had a bad game or two, makes the decision easy when Comrie goes up. 

[irregularly irregular]

GMKA is intent on looking to the future. As long as UPL is playing the way he has for the past 3 weeks, he is definitely part of the future and a 3 goalie rotation makes sense. Vinny is not part of the Sabres future and is traded or waived when Comrie comes back from the Amerks. 

[dudacek]

27 minutes ago, irregularly irregular said:

GMKA is intent on looking to the future. As long as UPL is playing the way he has for the past 3 weeks, he is definitely part of the future and a 3 goalie rotation makes sense. Vinny is not part of the Sabres future and is traded or waived when Comrie comes back from the Amerks. 

I can’t see it being a 3-goalie rotation. 

It will be Comrie backing up UPL unless one falters.

Adams has been adamant about UPL’s playing time and Comrie is part of the future.