How should Adams handle the goaltending this offseason?

[LGR4GM]

Here, discuss. That's all half of you are fixated on anyways. 

Sign Portillo and Levi. Bring in 1 veteran. Let the 4 of them battle it out. 

[woods-racer]

I'm not giving up any major assets to sign a goalie that might be around for 2 years. They are a fickle bunch and may have absolutely no value to trade when the prospects are coming up.

[Pimlach]

 

Color me as one that has been fixated on the goaltending.  I am sure I sound like a broken record at times.  

I think those of us are "fixated" on it because we have had mostly poor goaltending ever since Ryan Miller started to decline.  It is hard to build a winning team without solid or better goaltending.  

I would like to see both Levi and Portillo signed this offseason so they don't escape.  It's time for them to get professional experience somewhere (AHL or ECHL - whatever they can handle).  Keep Toker around for AHL support.  

I would like to see UPL in Buffalo next year along with and another TBD NHL vet (on a short and painless contract).  I would even like to see Anderson on the roster as the #3.  I am convinced he is great guy to have around for the next year and will be a great influence on the young goalies.  

In this way if UPL falters or gets hurt, we still have an NHL goalie plus Anderson.  We must start supporting the young core with good goaltending to see improvement in the standings.  In addition, both Portillo and Levi can start advancing their careers.  If we are lucky we may end up with 3 good goalies and have a surplus down the road, which would allow us to add another good player and/or prospect down the road.  

Edited March 22, 2022 by Pimlach

[Flashsabre]

Throw big money at Kuemper on a one year deal to stabilize the net and let the kids develop.

They need to spend just to get to the cap floor next year. Godfather him with an offer he can’t refuse and set this team up for success. Re evaluate wheee everyone is next offseason.

[JohnC]

16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

Color me as on that has been fixated on the goaltending.  I am sure I sound like a broken record at times.  

I think those of us are "fixated" on it because we have had mostly poor goaltending ever since Ryan Miller started to decline.  It is hard to build a winning team without solid or better goaltending.  

I would like to see both Levi and Portillo signed this offseason so they don't escape.  It's time for them to get professional experience somewhere (AHL or ECHL - whatever they can handle).  Keep Toker around for AHL support.  

I would like to see UPL in Buffalo next year along with and another TBD NHL vet (on a short and painless contract).  I would even like to see Anderson on the roster as the #3.  I am convinced he is great guy to have around for the next year and will be a great influence on the young goalies.  

In this way if UPL falters or gets hurt, we still have an NHL goalie plus Anderson.  We must start supporting the young core with good goaltending to see improvement in the standings.  In addition, both Portillo and Levi can start advancing their careers.  If we are lucky we may end up with 3 good goalies and have a surplus down the road, which would allow us to add another good player and/or prospect down the road.  

Is Anderson coming back? If he is, I don't see the Sabres bringing in another veteran goalie. It just seems to me that the GM is invested in having UPL being one of the rotating goalies. I would prefer to have another veteran goalie brought in but don't believe that is the approach that the GM is taking. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

It will be (or should be kind of a flow chart

Decision 1: Sign Portillo and Levi and then let camp decide who starts in the AHL and who starts in the ECHL.  If Portillo wants another year in college let him stay.  

Decision 2: Sign or trade for a proven starter -trade for Varlomov, sign a Kuemper etc...

Decision 3: Decide if UPL is ready for NHL backup duty.  If the answer is yes, then KA's done at the NHL level.  If the answer is no, then....

3a: If not UPL, then sign or acquire a veteran backup goalie.  My preference here is actually to try to get a youngish backup like Georgiev or Samsonov who might possibly earn the starting job and also as insurance if the kids aren't ready for a few years.  

Decision 4: What to do with UPL is he isn't NHL ready?  Assuming Levi and Portillo are in the fold, do you send UPL back to the AHL to split the net with Levi/Portillo or do you trade him for other assets?  If Portillo remains in school, I'd assume UPL starts in the AHL and Levi starts in the ECHL.

Decision 5: Me I'd trade UPL if he isn't ready.  I'd like to get vets to partner with the kids in the minors like Houser and Tokarski.  I'd love to bring back Tokar as Levi/Portillo's AHL partner.  It would also give us insurance in case of injury to one of the 2 NHL goalies.

Scenario one example

Varlomov UPL

Tokarski Levi

Houser Portillo

Scenario 2 example (UPL not ready and Portillo signed)

Varlomov Georgiev

Levi Tokarski 

Portillo Houser 

Scenario 3 example (UPL not ready and Portillo stays in school)

Varlomov Georgiev

UPL Tokarski

Levi Houser 

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It will be (or should be kind of a flow chart

Decision 1: Sign Portillo and Levi and then let camp decide who starts in the AHL and who starts in the ECHL.  If Portillo wants another year in college let him stay.  

Decision 2: Sign or trade for a proven starter -trade for Varlomov, sign a Kuemper etc...

Decision 3: Decide if UPL is ready for NHL backup duty.  If the answer is yes, then KA's done at the NHL level.  If the answer is no, then....

3a: If not UPL, then sign or acquire a veteran backup goalie.  My preference here is actually to try to get a youngish backup like Georgiev or Samsonov who might possibly earn the starting job and also as insurance if the kids aren't ready for a few years.  

Decision 4: What to do with UPL is he isn't NHL ready?  Assuming Levi and Portillo are in the fold, do you send UPL back to the AHL to split the net with Levi/Portillo or do you trade him for other assets?  If Portillo remains in school, I'd assume UPL starts in the AHL and Levi starts in the ECHL.

Decision 5: Me I'd trade UPL if he isn't ready.  I'd like to get vets to partner with the kids in the minors like Houser and Tokarski.  I'd love to bring back Tokar as Levi/Portillo's AHL partner.  It would also give us insurance in case of injury to one of the 2 NHL goalies.

Scenario one example

Varlomov UPL

Tokarski Levi

Houser Portillo

Scenario 2 example (UPL not ready and Portillo signed)

Varlomov Georgiev

Levi Tokarski 

Portillo Houser 

Scenario 3 example (UPL not ready and Portillo stays in school)

Varlomov Georgiev

UPL Tokarski

Levi Houser 

What I verbalized is close  to scenario 1.    It’s time to see what UPL has, but don’t bet the farm on him so bring in a goalie.  Also keep Anderson as #3 so you don’t have a situation that forces Levi or Portillo to advance too fast.   

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, Pimlach said:

What I verbalized is close  to scenario 1.    It’s time to see what UPL has, but don’t bet the farm on him so bring in a goalie.  Also keep Anderson as #3 so you don’t have a situation that forces Levi or Portillo to advance too fast.   

If Anderson wants to come back as the AHL mentor I'm good with that, but I doubt he'll do that.  I think's more likely the Sabres would make him the roving goalie coach to help develop the kids.

[sweetlou]

If I'm GMKA I sign Portillo and Levi to 3 year entry level contracts.  Let them battle it out and one is in AHL and the other in ECHL.

Resign Anderson to be third goalie/mentor in NHL.  Sabres have cap space.  Nothing wrong with having 3 goalies on active roster.

UPL signs a 2 year deal 2 way deal. 

Sign UFA Husso from St. Louis to a 2 year deal for $3.5 and $4.5 million for a cap hit of $4 million. He needs to be on a short prove it wasn't a fluke contract. 

Sign Korpisalo to a 1 year 2 way contract, similar to what they did with Dell this year.  He has really struggled the past few years ever since Elvis was named the starter in Columbus.  He may sign a one year deal to try and rejuvenate his career. 

Let the 2 Finns fight it out behind Hussa for goaltender #2, and the 3rd goes down to AHL to split time with the college kid. 

[Hank]

The only way I don't want Levi and Portillo splitting time in Rochester is if one of them proves they are ready for the NHL.

[Doohickie]

Point of reference:  This season

I think a couple things to consider:  For 52 games the Sabres have had goalies that are .904+  What do we need to be competitive?  .910?  .915?  I think a decent SV% is probably somewhere in that range.  Of the goalies used this year, Anderson seems to be the "goald standard" (see what I did there?); he's the one that everyone seems to think is our best goalie (when healthy).  Three goalies are actually better than him, in terms of SV%:  Toker, UPL and Houser. 

For the life of me, considering the problems the Sabres have had at goalie, I don't know why Houser didn't get a better look.  He was okay last year and absolutely studly this year, albeit both were a very small sample size.  But okay, let's throw him out because everyone seems to think what he's shown at the NHL level is an aberration.

Especially if the Sabres continue to win down the stretch, it may turn out that the problem wasn't with the goalies, it was with team defense.  Maybe the goalie corps we have is good enough for a bubble team.  Sure everyone wants better, but depending on how far off Levi and Portillo really are, you're probably most interested in a goalie with one, maybe two years of term.  Who can the Sabres trade for or sign with that term who is an improvement over Anderson/UPL?

I expect Kevyn to look around some, but I wouldn't be surprised if he holds steady with some combination of Anderson, Toker and UPL.  And I'm not sure that would be a problem.

[French Collection]

I like a few ideas that were presented here.

UPL in Buffalo. His AHL numbers are shaky but his NHL ones are better. Time to fly little birdie.

I would be aggressive at getting Ville Husso on a short term deal. He is young enough to be entering his prime but has only had one good season at the NHL level. St Louis wants to keep him as he has outplayed Binnington but the Sabres have the cap space to beat almost anyone else.

History has shown us that 3 NHL goalies is not a luxury as many teams have gone that deep this season. Anderson would be OK if he wants to continue. He could also visit in Rochester and Cincinnati to mentor the young guns. He lives in Florida so the offer has to be appealing and he needs the desire to stay in top form.

Levi should be signed since I think he is the top prospect. Put him in Rochester.

Portillo can go either way. If he signs he can battle it out with Levi for Rochester. I am not opposed to having them both in Rochester as well as a 1A/1B tandem if they are both ready for AHL competition. Anderson could spend some time with them as a mentor. If one of them is not ready for the AHL then sign Tokarski.

Draft a goalie, they have many late round picks.

[Doohickie]

Anderson not a given

 

[Norcal]

Spencer Knight has been playing games at the NHL level since 2020-21. 

Devon Levi outplayed him in the World Juniors and has been steadily improving since.

I'm gonna say Levi signs and surprises some people by playing full time in the NHL next season. 

I think he'll be paired with a trade acquisition like Gorgiev or FA like Keumper. 

The need for atleast one veteran starter is urgent no matter what they think of anyone in the system. 

UPL and Portillo will share the net in Rochester.

 

[Flashsabre]

People keep saying Husso but let’s remember the last time we signed a FA goalie from St. Louis who only had one good year.😛

[Weave]

I’m glad I’m not the one being paid to figure this ***** out.

Eleven was damned right.  You don’t wanna be in goalie purgatory.

[Marvin]

I don't like Georgiev's attitude in New York.  Whatever we do, look elsewhere.  We need at least 0.910 save percentage.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Point of reference:  This season

I think a couple things to consider:  For 52 games the Sabres have had goalies that are .904+  What do we need to be competitive?  .910?  .915?  I think a decent SV% is probably somewhere in that range.  Of the goalies used this year, Anderson seems to be the "goald standard" (see what I did there?); he's the one that everyone seems to think is our best goalie (when healthy).  Three goalies are actually better than him, in terms of SV%:  Toker, UPL and Houser. 

For the life of me, considering the problems the Sabres have had at goalie, I don't know why Houser didn't get a better look.  He was okay last year and absolutely studly this year, albeit both were a very small sample size.  But okay, let's throw him out because everyone seems to think what he's shown at the NHL level is an aberration.

Especially if the Sabres continue to win down the stretch, it may turn out that the problem wasn't with the goalies, it was with team defense.  Maybe the goalie corps we have is good enough for a bubble team.  Sure everyone wants better, but depending on how far off Levi and Portillo really are, you're probably most interested in a goalie with one, maybe two years of term.  Who can the Sabres trade for or sign with that term who is an improvement over Anderson/UPL?

I expect Kevyn to look around some, but I wouldn't be surprised if he holds steady with some combination of Anderson, Toker and UPL.  And I'm not sure that would be a problem.

There is zero question that bad defensive play contributed to the goalie's problems.  We started Miller (34 games), Hagg (48) and Butcher (32) for much of the season.  We saw what the NHL thinks of them at the deadline; Hagg went for a 6th and Miller and Butcher had no trade value because they were awful defensively (granted the injuries also contributed to their lack of value)  In addition, Dahlin, Jokiharju and Bryson have improved significantly during the season, while Matt and Fitz started the year on IR or the AHL.   Once Fitz gets healthy, we'll be much closer to our best pairs with Dahlin, Bryson, Samuelsson, Fitz, Jokiharju and Miller.  

All that said, the goaltending is still lacking.  Nearly all the playoff goaltenders have save % of 914 or better.  We should be proud of our victory over Calg. Their 2 goalies have a 928 save % each.  Anderson and Tokarski are at 906 and 904 respectively.

Edited March 22, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Norcal]

7 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

I don't like Georgiev's attitude in New York.  Whatever we do, look elsewhere.  We need at least 0.910 save percentage.

He wants to start and thinks he's being blocked. Not the first guy to want out of a situation like that. 

Is he really being that vocal about it?

I saw the trade deadline talking heads doing a story on it but I thought that was just his agent jockeying behind the scenes? 

[Doohickie]

9 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

All that said, the goaltending is still lacking.  Nearly all the playoff goaltenders have save % of 914 or better.  We should be proud of our victory over Calg. Their 2 goalies have a 928 save % each.  Anderson and Tokarski are at 906 and 904 respectively.

And UPL is .917.

[Marvin]

4 minutes ago, Norcal said:

He wants to start and thinks he's being blocked. Not the first guy to want out of a situation like that. 

Is he really being that vocal about it?

I saw the trade deadline talking heads doing a story on it but I thought that was just his agent jockeying behind the scenes? 

People have known about Georgiev pouting and whining for weeks.  He's also been terrible this season.  We would be better off with Tokarski and Houser next season than Georgiev.

[Norcal]

5 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

People have known about Georgiev pouting and whining for weeks.  He's also been terrible this season.  We would be better off with Tokarski and Houser next season than Georgiev.

Talent wise I doubt it

So, the weeks leading up to the trade deadline he was rumored to want out, got it. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

7 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

And UPL is .917.

small sample size in the NHL.  Also his AHL number give me pause.  

[kas23]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

If Anderson wants to come back as the AHL mentor I'm good with that, but I doubt he'll do that.  I think's more likely the Sabres would make him the roving goalie coach to help develop the kids.

The issue with this is that Anderson would make 5-10x the salary as player than an entry-level goalie coach. This brings up a waivers issue. We won’t be able to send him up and down. 

[Doohickie]

8 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

small sample size in the NHL.  Also his AHL number give me pause.  

Oh I know.  Same with Houser.  But geez, why don't the Sabres see what they've got in these guys who are playing small sample sizes really well?