Goaltending.. What the heck are we going to do??

[Kublakhan]

Really I can not see a star type player in 2,3 or even 4 years down the road..They take so long to become great at that position..

We have all the great D and F in the cooker and maybe even more with the draft coming up.. does Tim Murray go after other teams prospects or sign a vet? What do you guys think?

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[enthusiast]

Enroth's aight under normal circumstances, Neuvirth isn't as bad as he's shown. If they stick with either and actually have an NHL quality team around them they'd be good enough until Ullmark/Makarov

 

[Djp]

Step 1... Sign a UFA goalie or Neuvirth/Enroth for around $4M or so for 2-3 yrs. they need to get to the cap floor which is why it needs to be starter money.

Step 2.. Makarov and Lieuwen are in yr 2 of 4 years of waiver freedom, Ullmark is in year 1. Year 3 after this season Makarov and Lieuwen need to clear waivers. Year 4 Ullmark needs to clear waivers. See if one of them develops. Peterson and Johansson likely don't sign with the sabres until 16/17 or 17/18.

Step 3.. There will be for certain another Bernier type in the league in 2-3 yrs. Toronto acquired him for a 2nd and 2 middle of the road players. Buffalo will have the assets to acquire the next Bernier if step 2 is a failure. An example Anaheim will have to move Gibson r Anderson in a few years.

I'm not worried about goaltending at all.

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

We need a goalie who can pull off a .910 save %. Last season 37 goalies managed that over 25 starts. That list included Ben Bishop (Conacher and a 4th), Ben Scrivens (3rd), Cory Schneider (1st), Michael Neuvirth (Halak), Jaro Halak (Neuvirth), Kari Lehtinen (Vishnevskiy and a 4th), Roberto Luongo (Shawn Mattias and Jacob Markstrom), Ryan Miller (FA), Steve Mason (Michael Leighton), and Anti Niemi (FA). When we need a goalie, I think we will be able find one.

 

[jBuds]

Goaltending isn't the issue right now.

 

[Paxon]

There's nothing wrong with our organizational stable of goaltenders. If we still need a goaltender in 3 years, address it then. Why address it now when we don't need it and when the prospects we have may pan out?

 

[ZZamboni]

Goaltending isn't the issue right now.

Exactly. This season, it's exactly how we need it to be. In 2-3 years, I would bet one of our young goalies will develop and rise to the top and be as good if not better than Enroth.

 

[ZeroPT*]

Basically what imlach said.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

I think it all depends on what happens at the Draft.

Enroth/Neuvy are fine for now. Come this offseason, if we land one or both of McD/Eichel, I'd be all for going out and acquiring a proven, successful veteran between the pipes that could A) make us a playoff team and B) shelter and mentor his future successor, whoever that might be (Makki/Ullmark/other).

 

[Myllz]

The answer is to abandon the idea of McDavid and go for MacKenzie Blackwood with the #1 overall!

 

[Jim Bob]

I've got my goalie gear and am only a phone call away.

Just saying....

 

[Girgensons28]

Just sign the tallest guy in Finland.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

I've got my goalie gear and am only a phone call away.

Just saying....

I doubt it....I posted a .986 sv % in my rec floor hockey league. Beat that!!

 

[Jim Bob]

I doubt it....I posted a .986 sv % in my rec floor hockey league. Beat that!!

I was the 2014 David Bigelow Memorial Hockey Tournament Coaches vs Coaches Game MVP.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

I was the 2014 David Bigelow Memorial Hockey Tournament Coaches vs Coaches Game MVP.

Damn!! Foiled again!

 

[Jame]

answer to the OP:

Not worry about it in the least. It will solve itself if we focus on building the roster (forwards/defensemen)

 

[SabresFanNorthPortFL]

If we land McEichel, we switch to a win mode.

A. Enroth is way too small to be a NHL top 15 goalie. That's a fact, no way to argue otherwise. Once he goes down, the top corners are open...fact. He's a placeholder right now, and that place is 30th.

B. Neuvi. He's had multiple chances, with a decent team in front of him, he just doesn't have "it." no biggie, he's a placeholder too. Hopefully, he'll be a solid backup next year for.....

C. Neimi. He's won a Cup, big enough, young enough. We will probably go after him in UFA.

I always remember gmtm statements about his desired size, and it's bf. Bye bye Enroth

 

[Clock]

Buffalo's too used to leaning on goalies. Gotta cut that loose.

Echoing popular sentiment - not an issue at this point.

 

[Jim Bob]

answer to the OP:

Not worry about it in the least. It will solve itself if we focus on building the roster (forwards/defensemen)

I don't know that it is that easy. But, it is something to worry about down the road.

I just hope the Sabres can find the answer in goal unlike other teams.

Ullmark's early season struggles are a bit concerning.

 

[mgeise]

I'd be on board to sign Niemi to a two year, $8-10 million contract this offseason if Enroth and Neuvirth don't step up and grab the job this year. That gives Ullmark, Petersen, Lieuwen, Makarov, etc. another two years to show that they are ready for the NHL. If none step up, another can be found in FA at that point.

Goaltending is the last thing I'm worried about over the long term.

 

[Jim Bob]

If we land McEichel, we switch to a win mode.

A. Enroth is way too small to be a NHL top 15 goalie. That's a fact, no way to argue otherwise. Once he goes down, the top corners are open...fact. He's a placeholder right now, and that place is 30th.

B. Neuvi. He's had multiple chances, with a decent team in front of him, he just doesn't have "it." no biggie, he's a placeholder too. Hopefully, he'll be a solid backup next year for.....

C. Neimi. He's won a Cup, big enough, young enough. We will probably go after him in UFA.

I always remember gmtm statements about his desired size, and it's bf. Bye bye Enroth

The interesting thing is that Irbe might disagree.

 

[HockeyH3aven]

I like our prospects, Enroth is an average starting NHL goalie and Neivurth is an average NHL backup. Both are young, and they have some good prospects as well. Not an issue.

The difference in career save % between Enroth and Miller is .002. That's two tenths of a perfect worse, almost statistically insignificant.

The different between the worst goalie and best in the league isn't that big anymore. The days of superstar goaltenders is likely coming to an end.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Fleury on a short-term deal to hold us over to Ullmark.

 

[yahhockey]

We have three or four years to see if anyone in the pipeline will develop into a starting goalie in the NHL. If by that time no one has shown themselves worthy then we acquire a backup from another team. There's usually a couple of goalies worth trading for that will have a high likelihood of success as a starting goalie.

 

[Jame]

I don't know that it is that easy. But, it is something to worry about down the road.

I just hope the Sabres can find the answer in goal unlike other teams.

Ullmark's early season struggles are a bit concerning.

it literally is that easy... corey crawford, justin quick, antii niemi, tim thomas...