Prospect Info: 71st Overall Leevi Merilainen G, Fin, Karpat Jr

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Reminds me a lottttt of Filip Gustavsson. Great positionally but a lot of chaotic rebounds and sometimes he won't save it cleanly.

However, has a lot of poise and effecient movements. We can't give up on him the way we did Gustavsson or even Dreidger.

 

[PlayersLtd]

He gives the team a better chance to win than Forsberg, simple as that. Should get the starters workload until Ullmark comes back. Obviously Forsberg will get games, and don't expect Leevi to start back to back.

Has a cool confident look about him in net. Makes the saves you expect, slows the play down when needed.

He *appears* to give is the best chance to win. Push to hard and find out the hard way that that isn't quite the case in the long run.

I want to run with him as much as anyone but the reality is that's not how you develop a goalie. I hope to be proven wrong because he looks like an NHLer but we don't know, 22 is very young. You also can't just throw Forsberg out, you need to keep him sharp because you know he will be leaned upon when we load manage Ullmark upon his return.

 

[Alex1234]

He gives the team a better chance to win than Forsberg, simple as that. Should get the starters workload until Ullmark comes back. Obviously Forsberg will get games, and don't expect Leevi to start back to back.

Has a cool confident look about him in net. Makes the saves you expect, slows the play down when needed.

And more importantly the Team plays different when he's in the net compared to Foursberg

 

[branch]

Looks like an NHL goalie to me

 

[Cosmix]

Reminds me a lottttt of Filip Gustavsson. Great positionally but a lot of chaotic rebounds and sometimes he won't save it cleanly.

However, has a lot of poise and effecient movements. We can't give up on him the way we did Gustavsson or even Dreidger.

Meri has looked very solid in goal; he seems to be in position and square to the puck almost all the time. I find that Forsberg seems to leave his net sometimes and thus creates more GA opportunities. I think Mari is looking like a second Ullmark.

He *appears* to give is the best chance to win. Push to hard and find out the hard way that that isn't quite the case in the long run.

I want to run with him as much as anyone but the reality is that's not how you develop a goalie. I hope to be proven wrong because he looks like an NHLer but we don't know, 22 is very young. You also can't just throw Forsberg out, you need to keep him sharp because you know he will be leaned upon when we load manage Ullmark upon his return.

I tend to agree ; however, I would play the goaltender that is "winning games" and has the higher save percentage. Meri is my first choice at this time.

 

[Big Muddy]

He looks calm and poised in net. His positioning seems sound and he covers the angles well.

I’d think they need to give him majority of games until Ullmark is healthy and back in the lineup.

 

[aragorn]

He's clearly the second best goalie in this organization at the moment & they should run with him. And while I have always thought he was our best goalie prospect you just never know with goalies. I expect Forsberg could be back in Europe for next season & Sogaard likely moved.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

He looks like the guy to me.

 

[h2]

This guy is an absolute unit. Hopefully Staois sends Sogaard and Forsberg away in the offseason to get rid of the garbage in the organization. It's night and day comparing those guys to Merilainen.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Leevi looks much, much better than Forsberg, as does the team in front of him when he plays. I expect they'll play Forsberg on the back to back, but they really need to minimize his starts as much as possible.

 

[Cosmix]

This guy is an absolute unit. Hopefully Staois sends Sogaard and Forsberg away in the offseason to get rid of the garbage in the organization. It's night and day comparing those guys to Merilainen.

I would not sign Forsberg for the league minimum contract and absolutely not at his current salary. I am a Meri man!

 

[thinkwild]

The team played well when Leevi was in nets but was that because they were terrified about having an untested ahl goalie in nets and so tightened up? That wouldn’t really make me think he is the better goalie or that he was the reason for the wins. Forsberg has made some outstanding saves and been exposed to players alone in the slot. I don’t think Leevi has really achieved or been exposed to that yet.

Leevi looks real good. I have a lot of hopes that he will continue to develop. But im not ready to anoint him over Forsberg yet. If Forsberg gets on a roll as starter again, i think he has shown he can be reliable enough. He has started to look pretty good i think.

 

[Cosmix]

Leevi looks much, much better than Forsberg, as does the team in front of him when he plays. I expect they'll play Forsberg on the back to back, but they really need to minimize his starts as much as possible.

You may be right; however, the team needs to win now to remain in the hunt for a wild card spot; therefore, I would use Meri because he has been playing excellent hockey, is younger and more likely able to play back-to-backs.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

You may be right; however, the team needs to win now to remain in the hunt for a wild card spot; therefore, I would use Meri because he has been playing excellent hockey, is younger and more likely able to play back-to-backs.

I mean, I would, I just don't think they will.

If it were up to me, Forsberg wouldn't play another game in Ottawa and I'd have tried a guy like Primeau over him just for the sake of change. He's lost any faith from the team imo.

 

[Cosmix]

I mean, I would, I just don't think they will.

If it were up to me, Forsberg wouldn't play another game in Ottawa and I'd have tried a guy like Primeau over him just for the sake of change. He's lost any faith from the team imo.

I would not go as far as you want to at this time because the young goaltenders could stumble in their performance; however, if Forsberg could be traded for something of value, which I doubt, I would move him.

 

[aragorn]

The team played well when Leevi was in nets but was that because they were terrified about having an untested ahl goalie in nets and so tightened up? That wouldn’t really make me think he is the better goalie or that he was the reason for the wins. Forsberg has made some outstanding saves and been exposed to players alone in the slot. I don’t think Leevi has really achieved or been exposed to that yet.

Leevi looks real good. I have a lot of hopes that he will continue to develop. But im not ready to anoint him over Forsberg yet. If Forsberg gets on a roll as starter again, i think he has shown he can be reliable enough. He has started to look pretty good i think.

Crosby had a shot on net right in front of Leevi in yesterdays game, he has had plenty of shots against from the slot. He is just quicker or seems to be in the right spot to make the save & we have yet to see weird & wacky goals go in on him as we have seen with both Forsberg & Sogaard.

There is a reason Forsberg has been a backup his entire career & IMO it's time to move on & either give the reins to Leevi or find a cheaper option, Forsberg is too expensive for a goalie you can't depend on.

 

[Big Muddy]

Crosby had a shot on net right in front of Leevi in yesterdays game, he has had plenty of shots against from the slot. He is just quicker or seems to be in the right spot to make the save & we have yet to see weird & wacky goals go in on him as we have seen with both Forsberg & Sogaard.

There is a reason Forsberg has been a backup his entire career & IMO it's time to move on & either give the reins to Leevi or find a cheaper option, Forsberg is too expensive for a goalie you can't depend on.

Well, Forsberg’s contract ends at the end of the season.

I don’t think many will be surprised if he isn’t re-signed. Maybe the bigger variable will be if they give Leevi the back up job, or whether they sign a vet as backup and let him develop more. Leevi looks ready from what I've seen, but its what team management thinks that’s important.

 

[Cosmix]

Well, Forsberg’s contract ends at the end of the season.

I don’t think many will be surprised if he isn’t re-signed. Maybe the bigger variable will be if they give Leevi the back up job, or whether they sign a vet as backup and let him develop more. Leevi looks ready from what I've seen, but its what team management thinks that’s important.

If Levi continues to perform at his current level for the rest of this season, I would keep him as the backup to Ullmark next season. That would place our salary for goaltenders at about $9M next season which is about right as a percentage of the Salary Cap for 2 roster players.

If Levi fails to perform next season or Ullmark gets injured and place on LTIR, we could pick up a vet goaltender to replace him (trade or waiver). We would still have Sogaard in the AHL and hopefully he will improve there. Risky yes.

 

[aragorn]

If Levi continues to perform at his current level for the rest of this season, I would keep him as the backup to Ullmark next season. That would place our salary for goaltenders at about $9M next season which is about right as a percentage of the Salary Cap for 2 roster players.

If Levi fails to perform next season or Ullmark gets injured and place on LTIR, we could pick up a vet goaltender to replace him (trade or waiver). We would still have Sogaard in the AHL and hopefully he will improve there. Risky yes.

It would be easy in the off season to pick up a one million dollar goalie as a backup & keep Leevi in Belleville if they want. Forsberg is too expensive for a backup who is undependable. Given how well Leevi is playing & looks positionally sound if he continues to play like this for the remainder of the yr IMO he gets the backup job.

Both Nikitin & Reidler are 20 yrs old & being European the age thing in the AHL doesn't apply to them so they could both be in the AHL next yr too. They could have a gluten of big goalies on the farm next yr.

 

[Cosmix]

Well, Forsberg’s contract ends at the end of the season.

I don’t think many will be surprised if he isn’t re-signed. Maybe the bigger variable will be if they give Leevi the back up job, or whether they sign a vet as backup and let him develop more. Leevi looks ready from what I've seen, but its what team management thinks that’s important.

I suppose that if Meri does not show he can be the backup next season, Forsberg might be signed again for about $1M if Staios cannot find another acceptable vet goaltender for the same salary ($1M). However, I would be surprised if Staios does sign Forsberg again.

 

[DrEasy]

I suppose that if Meri does not show he can be the backup next season, Forsberg might be signed again for about $1M if Staios cannot find another acceptable vet goaltender for the same salary ($1M). However, I would be surprised if Staios does sign Forsberg again.

Players who will be FAs and that I don't want to see on our team next year again: Forsberg, Hamonic, Giroux. I obviously don't hate Giroux, but I think we can pool the money saved on these FAs (we have cheaper in-house options for Forsberg and Hamonic) and get an upgrade on him.

 

[Cosmix]

Players who will be FAs and that I don't want to see on our team next year again: Forsberg, Hamonic, Giroux. I obviously don't hate Giroux, but I think we can pool the money saved on these FAs (we have cheaper in-house options for Forsberg and Hamonic) and get an upgrade on him.

I agree. Forsberg should give us about $1M to spend at F. Hamonic will need to be replaced for his $1M salary. For Giroux's $6.5M + we should be able to pay a decent faster younger player.