Levi sent to Roch

[GASabresIUFAN]

8 minutes ago, Thorny said:

He’s just lucky one of his 3 unlikely bets placed landed.

So far.  UPL gave us quality goaltending for much of his first 20 games last year and then the wheels came off over the next 13 starts.  

[Porous Five Hole]

SabreSpace meetup at the Blue Cross Arena? Friday Dec 8 is their next home game.

[Thorny]

12 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

So far.  UPL gave us quality goaltending for much of his first 20 games last year and then the wheels came off over the next 13 starts.  

I try to give the benefit of the doubt. It’s why I said for the sake of argument  in the offseason I was ok with Levi as the starter if we brought in a capable number 2.

Well, it still looks like we are at square 1 where we’ve got one guy I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to (UPL), and we are lacking the second guy 

[K-9]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

So far.  UPL gave us quality goaltending for much of his first 20 games last year and then the wheels came off over the next 13 starts.  

With all due respect, this seems like selective memory. To my recollection, Oopie has never strung together 20 games of quality goaltending. I’m too lazy to look up his game splits from last season, but will gladly stand corrected if I’m wrong about those 20 games.

[inkman]

4 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

SabreSpace meetup at the Blue Cross Arena? Friday Dec 8 is their next home game.

Appert, on The Sports Bar, said Levi is playing this weekend but he didn’t say Friday yet. 

[HumanSlinky39]

2 minutes ago, K-9 said:

With all due respect, this seems like selective memory. To my recollection, Oopie has never strung together 20 games of quality goaltending. I’m too lazy to look up his game splits from last season, but will gladly stand corrected if I’m wrong about those 20 games.

I remember him having a nice run in January...if I recall correctly, he was named rookie of the month. But he fell apart after that. He looks like a totally different goalie this year.

[GASabresIUFAN]

4 minutes ago, K-9 said:

With all due respect, this seems like selective memory. To my recollection, Oopie has never strung together 20 games of quality goaltending. I’m too lazy to look up his game splits from last season, but will gladly stand corrected if I’m wrong about those 20 games.

You are wrong.

In his first 10 starts last year the Sabres went 6-3-1 and UPL gave up 3 or less in 6 of the games and was .897 or better in 6 of the games (he had 2 terrible games very early in the year)

in the next 10 starts the Sabres went 7-2-1 and had 900 or better in 6 games and gave up 3 or less in 8 of the 10 games.  His worst game in that stretch was an .875.  He was also getting shelled most night as the Sabres gave up 35 to 45 shots in 5 of those games.  

 

[Ducky]

Sending Levi down was the right move.

Let him work on his game in the minors.

[CallawaySabres]

34 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

SabreSpace meetup at the Blue Cross Arena? Friday Dec 8 is their next home game.

I need to join the next big meetup for Sabes game

[K-9]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

You are wrong.

In his first 10 starts last year the Sabres went 6-3-1 and UPL gave up 3 or less in 6 of the games and was .897 or better in 6 of the games (he had 2 terrible games very early in the year)

in the next 10 starts the Sabres went 7-2-1 and had 900 or better in 6 games and gave up 3 or less in 8 of the 10 games.  His worst game in that stretch was an .875.  He was also getting shelled most night as the Sabres gave up 35 to 45 shots in 5 of those games.  

 

Oopie played 33 games last year and to have amassed the below average stats like he did while providing quality goaltending in two thirds of them almost defies logic. His quality games were the exception to say the least.

Obviously, you feel differently about his performance last season, so I’ll just agree to disagree and continue to hope he continues his play of late. 

[...]

2 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

Somebody please tell GMKA that it's November 28th, not September 28th.  The man is perpetually too slow to respond in doing the obvious right things, despite the overwhelming voices of fans, media, etc. trying to help him with his putting.  

As much as I would like to see KA "do something" it wasn't totally obvious until last night that this was the correct course of action. UPL has made it clear that he, for now, is worth taking time away from the other two goalies so that his pro game has a chance to reach another level. I don't blame KA for waiting for the clear sign it was time to make a move that only last week would been considered controversial.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Well, kudos to KA in admitting his mistake 

Hopefully he learns from it

He won't say he made a mistake nor should he, he will call this what it was.   A tryout under fire period and one goalie, UPL, pulled away.   

 

[Thorny]

6 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

He won't say he made a mistake nor should he, he will call this what it was.   A tryout under fire period and one goalie, UPL, pulled away.   

 

We always needed 2 though lol

he kept 3 because he wanted one of UPL or Comrie to establish as a backup behind the guy he anointed number 1

one did, but Levi bombed, so he’s at square one with only half the goaltending addressed 

if the plan WAS to only get 1/3 to emerge, the plan sucked 

He miscalculated. He got lucky. And i guarantee you he’ll settle for a half-fix

and we’ll all be told we have to be ok with it because after 4 years of doing crap all for the position, heck, at least we have sort of ok goaltending now, maybe 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Thorny

[Pimlach]

10 minutes ago, Thorny said:

We always needed 2 though lol

he kept 3 because he wanted one of UPL or Comrie to establish as a backup behind the guy he anointed number 1

one did, but Levi bombed, so he’s at square one with only half the goaltending addressed 

if the plan WAS to only get 1/3 to emerge, the plan sucked 

He miscalculated. He got lucky. And O guarantee you he’ll settle for a half-fix

and we’ll all be told we have to be ok with it because after 4 years of doing crap all for the position, heck, at least we have sort of ok goaltending now, maybe 

The bold could be true.  He should actually be happy that UPL is ahead of him though.   If UPL can carry the #1 role it takes a lot of risk out of his very high risk plan of not adding a proven goalie to the mix.  

Edited November 29, 2023 by Pimlach

[Thorny]

6 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

The bold could be true.  He should actually be happy that UPL is ahead of him though.   If UPL can carry the #1 role it takes a lot of risk out of his very high risk plan of not adding a proven goalie to the mix.  

No, nothing has changed. He banked on one starter, and had a prayer for a backup. He got the one starter (maybe) and his prayer wasn’t answered for the second guy 

The point of adding a competent 2nd guy was to have 2, including Levi. Since Levi is in Roch, the plan is a wash. He got half of what we needed 

[Thorny]

11 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Fair enough, but in the meantime he'll get more minutes in Rochester.

And it opens up a roster spot on the Sabres.

He didn't admit anything.  He tested the waters with three goalies and one rose to the top.  That was the plan all along.  The one who rose to the top could have been Levi.... but it turned out it wasn't.

I just…. I find this to be retroactive spin. Even if that was the case, it’s not like that proves he was smart to do it that way: that still wouldn’t be a very good way to enter a season. With 3 unknowns so you waste valuable points while you wait for one to eventually get on a hot streak.  Not in a season where playoffs are the goal. It would still be better to say, have a more established unit going in.

And also because, and I keep saying this, we’ve always needed 2 guys. If the plan was for one capable guy to emerge and 2 below average guys, that’s not a good plan! He’s only doing “ok” by the terms of an already questionable plan, by scoring 1 out of 3 on a test that cost us standings ground 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Thorny

[Thorny]

On 11/26/2023 at 7:39 AM, PASabreFan said:

The quality of this board has declined precipitously. Kinda appropriate, I guess, given the state of the franchise.

 

5 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

 

[K-9]

5 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Talk about lazy arguments.

[Broken Ankles]

5 hours ago, pi2000 said:

..and there it is.

You have been banging the drum for a long time.  Glad you got the scoop.  

[FrenchConnection44]

Good move. Hopefully UPL can handle a lot of starts. I don’t expect Levi to be a quality NHL goalie this year. The work will do him good. Hopefully build some confidence. Will help mentally. But I think he really needs a strong off season to build up his body, improve his quickness, agility, strength, etc. 

[Carmel Corn]

2 hours ago, ... said:

As much as I would like to see KA "do something" it wasn't totally obvious until last night that this was the correct course of action. UPL has made it clear that he, for now, is worth taking time away from the other two goalies so that his pro game has a chance to reach another level. I don't blame KA for waiting for the clear sign it was time to make a move that only last week would been considered controversial.

Perhaps, but I think it was foolish for him to think that Levi could find his game playing 1 out of 3 games and presumably not getting enough reps to hone his game to the pro level.  IMHO - Levi needs more minutes to improve, which wasn't happening with the 3-headed scenario.

[Thorny]

"You're a much wiser man than I am. I foresee you will become a great Jedi knight.“

Levi will still be a really good goalie. It’s just going to take some time. 

[Huckleberry]

Im sure we all happy with this.

[...]

2 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

Perhaps, but I think it was foolish for him to think that Levi could find his game playing 1 out of 3 games and presumably not getting enough reps to hone his game to the pro level.  IMHO - Levi needs more minutes to improve, which wasn't happening with the 3-headed scenario.

I completely agree. I would have preferred a completely different strategy for handling the goalies but that would have needed to occur over the summer. However, KA likely envisioned Levi as the answer in goal and a lot of people were on that band-wagon. He was wrong but this was the only way he and those on the band-wagon were going to find out. Taking his time to be sure was a natural consequence of how the goalie situation had been set up.

This gives us insight into how stubborn KA is when it comes to trying to realize his vision and his inability to veer from or modify his vision quickly. I just hope he isn't quite as wrong about anything/anyone else or this will be a long season.

[Sabres Super Fan]

9 hours ago, msw2112 said:

With UPL playing at the level he's at, he deserves the net.  Comrie is a solid backup.  Levi needs minutes to develop and he hasn't been good in Buffalo this year.  The Sabres are down a couple of forwards and could use the roster spot.  It all adds up to Levi going to Rochester.  Good to see the team making a logical decision.

This is a very telling statistic from the Sabres press release:  "Levi, 21, is the only goaltender drafted in 2020 or later to appear in an NHL game this season." 

Eric Comrie isn’t a solid backup and beyond this season is of no use for the Buffalo Sabres organization. I can’t wait until Buffalo Bandits season because the Buffalo Sabres relying on UPL and Eric Comrie the season over for playoffs this season unfortunately again a panic move by Don Granato. When you start listening to the fans your sitting next to them. UPL has shown no ability that he can carry a number one goalie load after three seasons. Nothing has changed with UPL but the year. A few good Buffalo Sabres games doesn’t make him capable. I believe UPL will fold under the added pressure like he always does. As for Eric Comrie he has no future and can’t seem to stay healthy. As for Devon Levi I think the last place I would send a goalie is the AHL Rochester Americans if anything Devon Levi should have stayed in college at Northeastern Huskies.

Again if I owned the Buffalo Sabres the Sabres farm team wouldn’t be in Rochester anymore. I don’t believe you can develop players in that poor outdated Rochester Americans AHL setup. Blue Cross Arena in Rochester is a dump. I have talked about it for years it’s one of the many reasons the Buffalo Sabres as a franchise is struggling. The Buffalo Sabres need a 5,000 to 6,000 seat arena built in Amherst for their Buffalo Sabres AHL farm team and other sports holdings like the Henderson Dollar Loan Center for the Vegas Golden Knights AHL farm team. That is today not our outdated 1970’s minor league setup.

The Buffalo Sabres need to make a $80 to $100 million dollar investment in their hockey development if they are serious. $80 to $100 million dollars is what is needed for a AHL minor league arena. I wouldn’t build in Rochester it’s too far away from Buffalo plus I don’t believe in that Rochester sports market anymore the Rochester Knighthawks attendance is terrible Terry Pegula is losing a lot of money with that team. I think the Buffalo Sabres would be more successful acquiring land in Amherst by UB to build a minor league arena for the Buffalo Sabres AHL team, UB Bulls basketball, indoor soccer and indoor football. Terry Pegula should sell his Rochester holdings Americans and Knighthawks to local Rochester investors or keep them and sell the Buffalo Sabres/Buffalo Bandits because it’s not working the way it is now. The Buffalo Sabres need major developmental money not just for renovations to Key Bank Center downtown but for a minor league arena in Amherst. The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t winning by luck they made major investments money in their Vegas AHL team facilities. Terry Pegula doesn’t look like he is the man that is going to do that for whatever reason so more Sabres losing and suffering as Darcy Regier said which is really unfortunate. I don’t believe in Rochester Americans or that substandard development set up for the Sabres prospects in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Sabres Super Fan