Alex Lyon, your #1 goalie?

[Night Train]

" He has a bad contract " 

One of several on this team.. Thanks KA...

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, ponokasabre said:

They would but they have zero cap space so to make it work it has to be money in money out or we retain and I am not retaining on UPL

See if can get Trent Federick and Stuart Skinner from them. Yet it's likely a pipe dream. 

[PASabreFan]

58 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Lyon rode his snowmobile to school at the age of 11.   He can handle Hammy.  

 

Alex already handled him. Follow the plot.

[PASabreFan]

20 minutes ago, Night Train said:

For now, yes. 

2 of those goals allowed last night were perfect tips. He had to scramble many other times during the game, coming out with great saves. Sabres didn't even try at the start of the 3rd and it's 5-4 in a blink. 

UPL has been hurt and was such a downer most games last year. 

Downer is a good thought but not sure you mean personality wise. UPL does seem like a pod/turd. If a team reflects the personality of its goalie, Lyon might just be what they need.

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

Alex already handled him. Follow the plot.

show me.  

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

I get we got Ellis late and he still has to get accolated to the team but I'd hope he gets in sooner than later. As Lyon has been solid but not spectacular thus far which makes him a fine backup but if we're counting him on 50-60 games to me that's a mistake. 

Is that the bar?

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

I would trade UPL. Not because I have faith in Lyon being great forever or Ellis but I just think both are better than UPL. Maybe UPL will prove me wrong? Hope so. 

What could you get for him right now?

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

I would trade UPL. Not because I have faith in Lyon being great forever or Ellis but I just think both are better than UPL. Maybe UPL will prove me wrong? Hope so. 

Would be perfectly fine with them trading UPL.  Give him and the team both a fresh start.

Can't see Adams doing that though.

BUT should Kevyn get canned, could see that being one of a new GM's 1st moves.

[...]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

I'm inclined to agree, I'm just not sure we're getting much for him. He must have a reputation as frequently injured at this point. 

Has that ever stopped Adams before?

[shrader]

Competition could be the exact thing UPL needs. He’s never had a competent goalie threatening to steal playing time from him. He’s going to have to consistently bring his A game if he want significant playing time. 

[PASabreFan]

19 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

show me.  

I ain't free.

[Shoot da Puck]

This poor guy is doomed to the goalie warehouse on Genesee St.

We keep our Puppa scoopers there too.

[Eleven]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I would trade UPL. Not because I have faith in Lyon being great forever or Ellis but I just think both are better than UPL. Maybe UPL will prove me wrong? Hope so. 

This is the best reason to get Conner Ellis in there for a couple of games.  If he can be #2 (or even #1), UPL becomes expendable.  If not, well, we might have to deal with the three-headed goalie monster for a while.

[Stads]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

If he can effortlessly swat away a Paul Hamilton leading non question question, he can hold up.

"The team sucked tonight, right?"

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

He will also fit right in during WNY winters.

Lyon's home town is Baudette, MN. Just down the road from the famous Warroad, MN. They are right on the Canadian border, close to the Northeast Angle, and closer to Winnipeg than Duluth. WNY winter temps and winds won't faze him but lake effect snows might.

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No one is taking UPL off our hands even if Adams wanted to trade him.  No one is taking him because:

1.  He is not a good goalie.  He wasn’t good in the minors and except 2/3 of one season, he has been terrible in the NHL

2. He has a bad contract.  No one except Adams would be paying UPL 4.6 a season

3. He has a long injury history.  

 

But there's always a team that thinks a change of scenery will solve it all.

1 hour ago, The Jokeman said:

See if can get Trent Federick and Stuart Skinner from them. Yet it's likely a pipe dream. 

How about a forward?

[matter2003]

18 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Lyon's home town is Baudette, MN. Just down the road from the famous Warroad, MN. They are right on the Canadian border, close to the Northeast Angle, and closer to Winnipeg than Duluth. WNY winter temps and winds won't faze him but lake effect snows might.

But there's always a team that thinks a change of scenery will solve it all.

How about a forward?

Yeah, MN gets WAY colder than it does here...would have to go to Watertown/Adirondack/Lake Placid region for similar temps in NY...but we get way more snow than MN which is mostly land and on the wrong side of the lake for LES even in areas near Superior.  Watertown/Lake Placid are essentially a blend of both where they get buried with multiple feet of lake snows AND temps that can get to -20 or -30 (or colder at times) before the windchills...

Edited 12 hours ago by matter2003

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

I ain't free.

I cannot find an interview with Lyon and Hammy.  

[msw2112]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Is that the bar?

What could you get for him right now?

Yes, the bar is "solid but unspectacular."  With the Sabres' goal scoring last season, solid but unspectacular goaltending all season long would have resulted in a playoff berth.  Terrible goaltending doomed the season.  For the stretch near the end when Reimer played reasonably well, the team won a lot of games.

A young Dominick Hasek or Ryan Miller are not walking through that door.  There were not any great goalies on the free agent market this summer and teams are not looking to deal top-flight goalies.  Plus, with free agent choices and no-trade clauses, it's highly unlikely a top-flight veteran goalie is going to sign with the Sabres.  As such, they have to rely on "solid" veteran goalies while drafting and developing younger ones, hoping to eventually groom one into a star.  UPL was looking like that guy a couple of seasons ago, and was paid accordingly, but fell off a cliff last season.  Can Levi be that guy?  The jury is still out.  They've drafted 5 others (Leinonen, Ratzlaff, Leenders, Meloche, Prokhorov) (yes, Google is my friend) and brought in Ellis, in hopes of one or more of them becoming that guy.

Lyon has played well.  He has not "stood on his head" or made highlight-reel saves, but he's in the right place at the right time to make the necessary saves, and from what I've seen, he has not given up any soft goals that cost the team a game.  Although he gave up 4 goals last night, the defensive play was horrific, and, fortunately, there was enough offense to overcome the 4 goals.  I watched the TSN broadcast (nice relief and diversion from Dunleavy and Ray) and they commented several times on how Lyon's play kept the team in the game until they figured out they needed to put forth some effort (which they did).

I know very little about Ellis, except that he was very good in the AHL last season, but I'd like to see, at some point, what he can do.  I assume he'll get a start the next time they play a lower-tier team.  Last night would have been such an opportunity, but given the 0-3 start, they HAD TO go with Lyon, who has been playing well.  To risk a loss on an unproven rookie and falling to 0-4 would not have been a wise decision.

[Flashsabre]

Hopefully Ellis gets some playing time soon. Lyon has been solid which is a big step up from a lot of the goaltending the team has received the last number of years. 
 

Let’s see what Ellis has to offer before UPL comes back and they have to make a decision.

Edited 10 hours ago by Flashsabre

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, msw2112 said:

Yes, the bar is "solid but unspectacular."  With the Sabres' goal scoring last season, solid but unspectacular goaltending all season long would have resulted in a playoff berth.  Terrible goaltending doomed the season.  For the stretch near the end when Reimer played reasonably well, the team won a lot of games.

A young Dominick Hasek or Ryan Miller are not walking through that door.  There were not any great goalies on the free agent market this summer and teams are not looking to deal top-flight goalies.  Plus, with free agent choices and no-trade clauses, it's highly unlikely a top-flight veteran goalie is going to sign with the Sabres.  As such, they have to rely on "solid" veteran goalies while drafting and developing younger ones, hoping to eventually groom one into a star.  UPL was looking like that guy a couple of seasons ago, and was paid accordingly, but fell off a cliff last season.  Can Levi be that guy?  The jury is still out.  They've drafted 5 others (Leinonen, Ratzlaff, Leenders, Meloche, Prokhorov) (yes, Google is my friend) and brought in Ellis, in hopes of one or more of them becoming that guy.

Lyon has played well.  He has not "stood on his head" or made highlight-reel saves, but he's in the right place at the right time to make the necessary saves, and from what I've seen, he has not given up any soft goals that cost the team a game.  Although he gave up 4 goals last night, the defensive play was horrific, and, fortunately, there was enough offense to overcome the 4 goals.  I watched the TSN broadcast (nice relief and diversion from Dunleavy and Ray) and they commented several times on how Lyon's play kept the team in the game until they figured out they needed to put forth some effort (which they did).

I know very little about Ellis, except that he was very good in the AHL last season, but I'd like to see, at some point, what he can do.  I assume he'll get a start the next time they play a lower-tier team.  Last night would have been such an opportunity, but given the 0-3 start, they HAD TO go with Lyon, who has been playing well.  To risk a loss on an unproven rookie and falling to 0-4 would not have been a wise decision.

It didn't cost them the game, but that 4th goal last night was entirely on Lyon.  Felt the 1st MacKinnon goal the other night was on him too, but hard to fault a goalie too much when he has to move across the net and the shooter is MacKinnon.  

Other than those 2, not much he could've done on any of the others.  He got the 2nd one covered last night and the ref's hands went up as if he'd blown his whistle and then they decided on replay that he didn't have it covered long enough.  Not faulting him on that one.

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, msw2112 said:

Yes, the bar is "solid but unspectacular."  With the Sabres' goal scoring last season, solid but unspectacular goaltending all season long would have resulted in a playoff berth.  Terrible goaltending doomed the season.  For the stretch near the end when Reimer played reasonably well, the team won a lot of games.

A young Dominick Hasek or Ryan Miller are not walking through that door.  There were not any great goalies on the free agent market this summer and teams are not looking to deal top-flight goalies.  Plus, with free agent choices and no-trade clauses, it's highly unlikely a top-flight veteran goalie is going to sign with the Sabres.  As such, they have to rely on "solid" veteran goalies while drafting and developing younger ones, hoping to eventually groom one into a star.  UPL was looking like that guy a couple of seasons ago, and was paid accordingly, but fell off a cliff last season.  Can Levi be that guy?  The jury is still out.  They've drafted 5 others (Leinonen, Ratzlaff, Leenders, Meloche, Prokhorov) (yes, Google is my friend) and brought in Ellis, in hopes of one or more of them becoming that guy.

Lyon has played well.  He has not "stood on his head" or made highlight-reel saves, but he's in the right place at the right time to make the necessary saves, and from what I've seen, he has not given up any soft goals that cost the team a game.  Although he gave up 4 goals last night, the defensive play was horrific, and, fortunately, there was enough offense to overcome the 4 goals.  I watched the TSN broadcast (nice relief and diversion from Dunleavy and Ray) and they commented several times on how Lyon's play kept the team in the game until they figured out they needed to put forth some effort (which they did).

I know very little about Ellis, except that he was very good in the AHL last season, but I'd like to see, at some point, what he can do.  I assume he'll get a start the next time they play a lower-tier team.  Last night would have been such an opportunity, but given the 0-3 start, they HAD TO go with Lyon, who has been playing well.  To risk a loss on an unproven rookie and falling to 0-4 would not have been a wise decision.

I saw Lyon make several unbelievable saves, including one against Boston.

[xzy89c1]

Hopefully he can be slightly above average which is improvement for us. UPL is a hypochondriac who is always hurt. We have a soft team might as well accept we have a soft gopalie.

[K012010]

7 hours ago, GoPuckYourself said:

He 100% should be our starting goalie until he proves otherwise. This reminds me of the partial year when Bobrovsky was hurt and he was standing on his head to make it to the playoffs and he was a big part of that granted it's a much smaller sample size so far but looking like maybe the same situation? One could at least hope so but for right now he's earned it.

Yeah but we’re scoring 8 goals a game now. So we only need him to be solid, which he has been. 

[SABRES 0311]

I would continue with Lyon and make UPL the backup. Gives UPL a chance to ease back into it.

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I would continue with Lyon and make UPL the backup. Gives UPL a chance to ease back into it.

I'd like to see how good/or not Colten Ellis is first. But I also can't see starting him while Lyon is playing so well and the Sabres need rack up a couple wins.

Edited 8 hours ago by PromoTheRobot

[Weave]

21 minutes ago, xzy89c1 said:

UPL is a hypochondriac

So you think he is not actually hurt?