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Annual expectations thread 2022/23: #31 Eric Comrie


dudacek

What do you expect from Eric Comrie?  

75 members have voted

  1. 1. Which of these best describes what you think the Sabres will get from Comrie this year?

    • Mostly a disaster - he will prove incapable of anything more than spot starts
    • A rerun of last year’s Anderson/Tokarski show, where he’s OK but certainly not the answer
    • Not a difference-maker, but a clear and modest improvement over last year’s tandem
    • Legitimate NHL starter-level competence for 50-plus games


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The Winnipeg Jets drafted Eric Comrie in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft, 23 picks after Montreal made Zach Fucale the first goalie selected, and 70 picks before Buffalo snagged Cal Petersen.

Over the next 8 years he eventually proved himself to be a good AHL goalie, posting .916 and .917 save percentages in his last two seasons as a regular starter with the Manitoba Moose in 2018 and 2019.

He was also sent to the minors 10 times, placed on the taxi squad 4 times, waived 5 times, claimed 4 times (twice by Winnipeg) and traded once. He managed to squeeze in 9 NHL games, compiling a grisly .873 save percentage.

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=132742

Last year, however, things finally clicked into place for this “goalie nerd” and “genuinely good guy”. Comrie found a home and a full-time role as the Jets backup. And he excelled in his 19 games, with a goals saved above expected rate second to only Igor Shesterkin in the entire NHL.

The Sabres signed him to a 2-year deal on the opening day of free agency for backup money and a chance to start.

What do you expect from him this year?

Edited by dudacek
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I really don't know what to expect for Comrie.

He's in a better spot than UPL to play in the NHL this season.  He does have some talent.  He's put in his time in the AHL and had some time as an NHL backup.  The interviews that I listened to shows that he has a great attitude and that's generally pretty important for goalies with the mental aspects of the game.  He knows this season is his year to get a shot at being a #1 which is great for him coming into the season.  The thing I worry about is health.  Can he stay healthy?  Can he manage the heavier workload if Anderson can't play as much or gets injured?  If UPL starts playing better then that will relieve some pressure (in that event).

Goal is still a weak position for the Sabres this season.  I'm on board with hoping it goes well but the plan B is still pretty weak if Comrie does not rise to the challenge.

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There’s not enough of a body of work to answer this, which is kind of what I said when the Sabres acquired him.  He could be a diamond in the rough, and he cluld be a JAG.  GIven that he had an NHL job, I doubt that he will be disaster .

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I love Comrie’s character and think he has NHL skill, but I wonder if he is the type of guy who gets in his own head.

He has a track record of getting NHL opportunities and blowing them. Nine starts with three different NHL teams to start his career (a 4th, Arizona, kept him for 3 months on the bench without ever giving him a shot) and he was mediocre to bad in every single one of them. This despite AHL play that showed he should have been ready.

Part of me says last year proved he has overcome that. Part of me wonders if, in the presence of his 1st real opportunity to be the guy, he melts down again.

 

Edited by dudacek
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The big unknown for me is whether the success in the last third of the season was meaningful. Or was it a team that was out of the playoffs playing with no pressure because there were no playoff implication games. I'm leaning toward meaningful because during that end of the season stint the roster was belatedly healthy. And being healthy the team demonstrated that it could play competitively against all teams. (Not saying they were better than the upper echelon teams.) So my tepid prediction is that the Sabres will be vying for a playoff spot up to the very end of the season. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not. 

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3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Comrie is going to be a "problem" in that he's going to play so well he's going to upend what Adams thought was his goalie timeline. There will be talk of extending him before the season is up.

That is my prognostication.

That would be a great problem to have.

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25-30 games would be ideal in my opinion.

He did really well in the games he got into last year and deserved more starts.

I don't know enough about the Sabres' Team D or PK to guess what his save % would be but if they play half decent D, a .920 sv% wouldn't surprise me at all.

Great in the room and everyone says you couldn't meet a nicer guy. I wish him all the best except against us.

Edited by Ducky
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1 hour ago, Ducky said:

25-30 games would be ideal in my opinion.

He did really well in the games he got into last year and deserved more starts.

I don't know enough about the Sabres' Team D or PK to guess what his save % would be but if they play half decent D, a .920 sv% wouldn't surprise me at all.

Great in the room and everyone says you couldn't meet a nicer guy. I wish him all the best except against us.

In an ideal world, the Sabres would have a competent starter and Comrie would only need to play 25-30 games, but I don’t see Anderson staying good/healthy for 50+ games. Unless UPL blows the Sabres away or Comrie gets hurt, I don’t see him playing less than 30 games.

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I'm going with why the ***** not? 

It happens all the time, why the ***** can't the Sabres catch that magic.

They're due, its been 30 years since the last time they did with The Dominator.

Not comparing the two players just the situation.

I don't expect Comrie to do what The Dominator did but...

Why the ***** not!

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