Are we gonna acknowledge our Goalie issues?

[Pimlach]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

And the schedule lines up that way nearly every year.  The schedule is quite sparse in October and compresses significantly after Christmas.  (Apparently after Halloween this season.)  The league doesn't want to compete against the NFL (but can't really do much about that for 4 months) nor the WS (which they can and do alter their schedule around).  So, maybe @Brawndo's plan to keep Reimer up for the 1st couple of months and then flipping him and Levi makes sense; but again IMHO this team has too little room for error to have the 2nd best guy down in Ra-cha-cha while the 3rd best guy is dropping 2 points every 4th start.  AND in both of the past 2 seasons, after Levi got called up for real, UPL's play tailed off noticably.  (Was it because UPLs play tailed off that he got brought up, or (more likely in this kid's opinion) did his play tail off because he now had legit competition for the starter's job?)  If it was because Levi got called up and now UPL was no longer 100% the starter in his own mind; well, guess what very possibly happens again when Levi gets called up in December.  And Levi will be getting at least 1/2 the starts in that situation anyhow.

When all is said and done, Levi's likely going to get ~32-35 games which is a bit over 3 of every 8.

And, while this is a slightly tangential discussion, if UPL can't be his best self without playing at least 3 of every 4, he is NOT the goalie for THIS team.  They are too young to be playing in front of a sieve every 4th game just to keep the starter in a good space mentally.  (3 years from now, when they're actually a team with a standard age distribution, sure.  But not now.)  MHO, ymmv.

Some good Points Taro, darn good for a guy drafted 187th overall back in 1974.  

I guess I lean towards @Brawndo's plan then.   Reimer holds the fort in limited games while UPL gets going.   Ruff said that UPL was going to be a big part of this team and Adams showed him the money,  therefore they have to give him the bulk of the work in the early part of the season.   That is the time to get Levi sharp in Rochester, down the road you bring up a ready and hungry Levi to bolster the team when the schedule gets more demanding.   Of course the trick is Reimer has to contribute when he gets his games - that was the risk.  I certainly didn't see enough preseason or practices to tell how far apart Reimer and Levi were.   

It is all a moot point.  We are where we are.  At least we have two good candidates in goal.  There are several teams that would love to have our goalies. 

Goaltending will not be our biggest problem this season but right now we need one of them to start carrying the team more, hence the creation of this thread.  

 

[Porous Five Hole]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

 

It has always looked to me that Adams wants Levi to be his #1 - as if he has to show something for his decision not to extend Reinhart, and then eventually trade him.  

If this is true, then why did KA give UPL a five year extension?

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Buffalo currently sits in 30th for Goals Saved Above Expected, GSAx. To be honest, UPL, outside of maybe 2 games has been very leaky. I thought in the Florida game and in the Penguins game, he really let us down. Levi hasn't been much better although we haven't seen him much so hard to tell there. 

The Bruins finally collapsed as their goaltending couldn't keep them afloat (at least for now). We already missed the playoffs 2 years ago because of goalie issues. I personally don't think the defense has been terrible but it seems that every 2v1 or shot from the slot goes in these days. 

Our goaltending has been average but has not cost us any games. 

Your Boston comment is uninformed. Their goaltending is not their problem. Korpisalo was actually their best player against Philly and made numerous big saves or it would have been a blow out. It's not the goalies fault on either team. 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

If this is true, then why did KA give UPL a five year extension?

Because he does this all the time - see Samuelsson, Cozens, and Power.  

[Idemo Buffalo]

15 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Because he does this all the time - see Samuelsson, Cozens, and Power.  

It is a little different with goalies.  UPL wasn't drafted by Adams but Adams clearly sees him as #1. Levi is a solid goalie, but hard to believe he sees a 22 year old as the #1 goalie.  Maybe in 2028/29 when UPL contract is up.