Speculation: The New And Improved Goaltending Thread - All Goats Tended

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Hoping they kick the tires on Raanta also. Canes might be tempted to bring up Kochetkov. Would give them a little more money to play with and allow Lafontaine to get more starts down in the AHL which he very clearly needs.

 

[jmelm]

There aren't any trade candidates that are worth getting excited about either. Maybe Talbot but I don't see why Guerin has to cave to that scenario quite yet.

I don't think it's a case of Guerin caving. I think he's happy to keep Talbot if they don't get a good trade offer, but given the demand vs. supply for goalies, he's likely to get some strong offers after teams miss out on others after free agency opens. If Guerin moves him, it will be because he can make a great hockey deal.

Talbot is an impending UFA and the best thing he can do is have a great attitude and play well. So Guerin is in a great position here, just like Yzerman inn DET if they want to move Nedeljkovic, except Talbot is a much better goalie.

 

[threeVo]

I dont blame Adams one bit for not jumping the gun on a goalie. The long term plan is more important for this team right now than trying to bandaid a goalie by giving them way too much term.

Comrie - Can likely get 2-3 Year term seems like option A right now. He wants to be a starter heres a good chance. He had good underlying numbers last year 10-5-1 with a .920 sv% on a non playoff team.
Kuemper/Campbell - wants 6 year non starter and it should be. 2 Year term giving him an overpayment on AAV is the only way I consider Kuemper because hes 32. Campbell im out on all together if he wants 4+ years.
Varlamov - depends on trade compensation. Teams with goalies under contract hold all the cards knowing people are desperate.

You can dumpster dive for guys like Rittich, Martin Jones, or Halak but thats a lateral move at best.

I would not have paid that price for Georgiev. Husso probably talked to the team but almost 5M for a goalie who didnt even start in the playoffs seems like Hutton all over again just more expensive.

 

[Fjordy]

If we end up going the trade route, I expect it to be close to the start of the season.

The lack of urgency Adams has expressed might drive fans crazy, but I'm guessing he doesn't want other GMs price gauging, especially in a limited goalie market, where sellers have the leverage.

If he gives the impression that we're ok with Anderson and UPL, some team holding out in hopes that we'd pay through the nose might drop their price. I guess you have to hope those teams still exist though, and that goalies are still available

The problem is that there will be few targets left for trading and in terms of quality too. I don't want our starter to be Martin Jones, who might not be needed by anyone.

 

[Ace]

Comrie at least presents the possibility of being good. You just dont know. Which beats Anderson/Tokarski/Dell where you already knew.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yea Comrie on a 2 year deal would be fine for me as well

 

[jmelm]

Comrie is definitely best option right now. We may have to give him 3 years but who cares. It's not going to be a huge cap hit.

 

[Ace]

In three years your best/ worst case scenario is that Levi is ready for some NHL. He’s in college this year and Rochester next year. If everything goes great you’re working him in like you are UPL now. And this scenario needs both Comrie and UPL to have been good too for there to be any problem.

it’s why Adams talk about blocking prospects bothers me so much. His worst case scenario seems to be that we are…too good?

I don’t get it.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

In three years your best/ worst case scenario is that Levi is ready for some NHL. He’s in college this year and Rochester next year. If everything goes great you’re working him in like you are UPL now. And this scenario needs both Comrie and UPL to have been good too for there to be any problem.

it’s why Adams talk about blocking prospects bothers me so much. His worst case scenario seems to be that we are…too good?

I don’t get it.

I expect part of that is because he wants to sign Levi and Portillo, and a long term starter joining the team makes that significantly harder

 

[Ace]

I expect part of that is because he wants to sign Levi and Portillo, and a long term starter joining the team makes that significantly harder

I hope this isn’t why he hasn’t drafted very much D. In hopes Johnsons signs lol.

The Portillo thing is way more complex than just having a good guy in place though. His problem is that hes a good prospect who will turn pro the same time as a better one and they should both head to the AHL and get as many reps as possible. Which each other make impossible. Whether you have two vezina finalists in Buffalo or zero goalies signed…that problem doesn’t change. Levi and Portillo both signing either hurts both of their development opportunities or just hurts one…and Portillo knows which one.

he turned down all the net he could handle in Rochester this year...along with a step up on Levi. tells me what I need to know.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

I hope this isn’t why he hasn’t drafted very much D. In hopes Johnsons signs lol.

The Portillo thing is way more complex than just having a good guy in place though. His problem is that hes a good prospect who will turn pro the same time as a better one and they should both head to the AHL and get as many reps as possible. Which each other make impossible. Whether you have two vezina finalists in Buffalo or zero goalies signed…that problem doesn’t change. Levi and Portillo both signing either hurts both of their development opportunities or just hurts one…and Portillo knows which one.

he turned down all the net he could handle in Rochester this year...along with a step up on Levi. tells me what I need to know.

This is also where I'm at, regarding Portillo.

One name not mentioned much is Laurent Brossoit. He may well be a cap casualty. Not the ideal signing - but at least better than the likes of Matt Murray, or resigning Tokarski.

 

[Fjordy]

This is also where I'm at, regarding Portillo.

One name not mentioned much is Laurent Brossoit. He may well be a cap casualty. Not the ideal signing - but at least better than the likes of Matt Murray, or resigning Tokarski.

Not very stable and was not the best season.

 

[Gabrielor]

This better not be trending to a re-signing of Dustin Tokarski and some b.s. like:

"Well, we had some conversations, and we just felt comfortable with what Dustin brought to the group..."

 

[Fjordy]

This better no be trending to a re-signing of Dustin Tokarski and some b.s. like:

"Well, we had some conversations, and we just felt comfortable with what Dustin brought to the group..."

No please

 

[oldgoalie]

No please

f*** no, thank you.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

There's going to be someone acquired we don't expect, that would be my guess at this point. They won't be going into next season with UPL & Anderson.

 

[jmelm]

I hope this isn’t why he hasn’t drafted very much D. In hopes Johnsons signs lol.

The Portillo thing is way more complex than just having a good guy in place though. His problem is that hes a good prospect who will turn pro the same time as a better one and they should both head to the AHL and get as many reps as possible. Which each other make impossible. Whether you have two vezina finalists in Buffalo or zero goalies signed…that problem doesn’t change. Levi and Portillo both signing either hurts both of their development opportunities or just hurts one…and Portillo knows which one.

he turned down all the net he could handle in Rochester this year...along with a step up on Levi. tells me what I need to know.

Yes, Levi is undoubtedly the better prospect, but I want a goalie (like Portillo in this case) to want to have the competitive fire to try, in a cordial way, to at least try to show he can be as good or better; and in the worst case, at least showing he can be a 1B if Levi simply outshines him. (ditto with how he sees himself relative to an often injured and not yet proven UPL)

We can see from the goalie market that there's a major dearth of talent and the league is trending towards more of a 60/40 spit in terms of playing time. So even with Levi, there's ample opportunity for Portillo to have that path. Also, even if he only tops out as a quality back up, that's still about $2-2.5M earning potential (if you take today's value and project it 2-3 years from now) by the time he would be coming off an ELC. And if he proves to be a solid 1B option and not merely a back up, you're talking more like $3-4M range.

Couple the above with the fact that BUF has a team on the rise, is notable for their positive culture and success now with developing young players who want to be there and thriving under Granato, and finally the fact that has plenty of countrymen including Dahlin (who I understand he has a good relationship with), and I can think of precisely NO reasons why any other NHL destination would be better for him.

The only thing I could fathom that makes more sense is if his true goal in life is to pursue a business career rather than a hockey one, hence him wanting to complete his business degree. And there's nothing wrong with that if that's his choice in life. But if he wants to be a hockey player, I can't really think of a better spot for him to be than BUF.

 

[Jacob582]

Oettinger is still a free agent.

 

[Ace]

Yes, Levi is undoubtedly the better prospect, but I want a goalie (like Portillo in this case) to want to have the competitive fire to try, in a cordial way, to at least try to show he can be as good or better; and in the worst case, at least showing he can be a 1B if Levi simply outshines him. (ditto with how he sees himself relative to an often injured and not yet proven UPL)

We can see from the goalie market that there's a major dearth of talent and the league is trending towards more of a 60/40 spit in terms of playing time. So even with Levi, there's ample opportunity for Portillo to have that path. Also, even if he only tops out as a quality back up, that's still about $2-2.5M earning potential (if you take today's value and project it 2-3 years from now) by the time he would be coming off an ELC. And if he proves to be a solid 1B option and not merely a back up, you're talking more like $3-4M range.

Couple the above with the fact that BUF has a team on the rise, is notable for their positive culture and success now with developing young players who want to be there and thriving under Granato, and finally the fact that has plenty of countrymen including Dahlin (who I understand he has a good relationship with), and I can think of precisely NO reasons why any other NHL destination would be better for him.

The only thing I could fathom that makes more sense is if his true goal in life is to pursue a business career rather than a hockey one, hence him wanting to complete his business degree. And there's nothing wrong with that if that's his choice in life. But if he wants to be a hockey player, I can't really think of a better spot for him to be than BUF.

It’s not about being competitive it’s about what’s best for his development. He can walk into any AHL net in the league and many teams will have an open one for a prospect like him.

The better spot than Buffalo is the one where he starts 60 games next year instead of 40 at best….most likely 30 at most.

Hes smart enough to know this. I hear he’s been to college.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Oettinger is still a free agent.

I don't see anything from Adams' moves/limited transaction history to attempt to snipe Oettinger. Would I love it, absolutely.

 

[Sebastien]

Oettinger is still a free agent.

He's not. He's restricted

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Article is paywall, Comrie might be a good option if the price is not high.

https://twitter.com/CMDeDominicis

 

[jmelm]

It’s not about being competitive it’s about what’s best for his development. He can walk into any AHL net in the league and many teams will have an open one for a prospect like him.

The better spot than Buffalo is the one where he starts 60 games next year instead of 40 at best….most likely 30 at most.

Hes smart enough to know this. I hear he’s been to college.

Or, if that was his main concern, he could have turned pro this year and gone right to the AHL to be ahead of Levi in terms of pro development. Or he can sign at the end of this season and play 1 game to burn a year, as opposed to if he elects UFA instead.

I'm sorry but I just don't buy this "easy path" stuff. I could buy it if we had a combo of Shesterkin + a quality back up + another high prospect like Levi ahead of him. So it's not like we had no spots available. But even in Florida where they had Bobrovsky and Knight, they were able to land the much sought after FA prospect in Mack Guzda.

I don't want prospects who want an easy path so they can just get a spot handed to them. Ditto for Ryan Johnson just because our top 4 looks solid, even though there's clearly a spot open for him to earn over the next couple of years with Dahlin playing on RD.

If Portillo just wants an easy spot handed to him, let him go sign with the Blackhawks next summer. Portillo is a fine prospect but he's not Eric Lindros who is so elite that he can call his shots and still heave teams lining up for him. And if Portillo really does want the easiest path and feels like he's entitled, then good riddance IMO.

 

[Jacob582]

He's not. He's restricted

restricted free agent?

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I hope this isn’t why he hasn’t drafted very much D. In hopes Johnsons signs lol.

The Portillo thing is way more complex than just having a good guy in place though. His problem is that hes a good prospect who will turn pro the same time as a better one and they should both head to the AHL and get as many reps as possible. Which each other make impossible. Whether you have two vezina finalists in Buffalo or zero goalies signed…that problem doesn’t change. Levi and Portillo both signing either hurts both of their development opportunities or just hurts one…and Portillo knows which one.

he turned down all the net he could handle in Rochester this year...along with a step up on Levi. tells me what I need to know.

I think they stuck to their draft list and there were some unexpected runs on defense. I don't read more into it than that.

As for Portillo, this has been brought up a number of times before: he has a business, is in business school, and wants to finish his degree. Whether or not he signs with Buffalo, all reports have been pretty consistent with that.