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

[Beville]

"Oh no! What would we possibly do if our 8-10-1, .893 sv%, career backup got claimed... Freeing up 2.75M in cap space to find an upgrade and/or improve the team in the process?"

Who cares if Forsberg's in a contract year? Why do we always feel obligated to cuddle our fringe, overpaid, marginal NHL players in Ottawa? Want to play and get paid in a contract year? How about you find some consistency in your game and play like an NHL goalie from the start of the season?

If Ullmark's back acts up, we should all feel more comfortable running with Leevi than Forsberg, since one has the best stat line in the organization while the other would have long been playing in the AHL if he was part of an organization the values winning above all (say Vegas).

With that being said, all the above is hypothetical. The point I'm making first and foremost is that Leevi should have never been taken out of the net to begin with.

- Not with a .666% win percentage.
- Not with the best stat line in the organization (what message does demoting him send to the rest of the team btw? So much for "best players play"?).
- Not coming off of a shutout.
- And especially not when we're 8 years into a playoffs drought, in part due to perennial bad goaltending.

And if Leevi shits the bed for the rest of the season, and we lose out on a WC spot, what do you say or do in response to that?

You’d be pissed, and don’t even try and lie.

 

[Ralph Malfredsson]

Bring him back, I'm team ride or die on Leevi

 

[aragorn]

Forsberg has a one way contract & while I like Merilainen he is only 22 yrs old & how he will do down the stretch or in the playoffs is unknown. Ullmark is the #1 when he is healthy, but going into the playoffs it will be necessary to have an NHL goalie as a backup rather than a rookie with limited games who can play if their are injuries or to change it up if necessary. I expect that Staois will either find an NHL vet as a backup for next season & Merilainen will have an opportunity to win it at training camp nest season, but either way I don't expect Forsberg will be back.

I also don't expect that Hamonic, Cousins, Highmore, Gaudette or Gregor will be back either.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

 

[bicboi64]

The Leeviathan making Smellville history

 

[Cosmix]

And if Leevi shits the bed for the rest of the season, and we lose out on a WC spot, what do you say or do in response to that?

You’d be pissed, and don’t even try and lie.

Cap space is one of the reasons why Leevi was sent to Belleville; Forsberg has the NHL contract at $2.75M. Forsberg won't have such a contract next season; the writing is on the wall for him in Ottawa. Leevi should be here next season while Forsberg will either be traded by the trade deadline or be a UFA next summer. Sogaard has the guaranteed NHL $0.775 M contract for next season but he is likely to be traded too if a buyer can be found.

 

[PlayOn]

Cap space is one of the reasons why Leevi was sent to Belleville; Forsberg has the NHL contract at $2.75M. Forsberg won't have such a contract next season; the writing is on the wall for him in Ottawa. Leevi should be here next season while Forsberg will either be traded by the trade deadline or be a UFA next summer. Sogaard has the guaranteed NHL $0.775 M contract for next season but he is likely to be traded too if a buyer can be found.

The only problem I have with Leevi being here next season is I’m not sure what you do in terms of depth.

If Sogaard clears waivers, at least he’s a call-up option, but you can’t guarantee that and even if he is here, he hasn’t been good when called up. Given Ullmark’s health, it feels like we need at least three NHL calibre goalies so the easiest thing to do is leave Leevi in the AHL and call him up when there’s an injury, and either re-sign Forsberg (I realize this will be unpopular) or find another back-up.

He deserves a shot but if it means we have no solid option in the event of injury, I don’t know if it’s the best move.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

The only problem I have with Leevi being here next season is I’m not sure what you do in terms of depth.

If Sogaard clears waivers, at least he’s a call-up option, but you can’t guarantee that and even if he is here, he hasn’t been good when called up. Given Ullmark’s health, it feels like we need at least three NHL calibre goalies so the easiest thing to do is leave Leevi in the AHL and call him up when there’s an injury, and either re-sign Forsberg (I realize this will be unpopular) or find another back-up.

He deserves a shot but if it means we have no solid option in the event of injury, I don’t know if it’s the best move.

Must be some guys they could sign and put in Belleville that could be considered depth.

The main goal should be to improve the big club first and foremost, and Leevi over Forsberg does that, especially in the case of Ullmark being injury prone, missing games and the backup playing more than he should.

 

[PlayOn]

Must be some guys they could sign and put in Belleville that could be considered depth.

The main goal should be to improve the big club first and foremost, and Leevi over Forsberg does that, especially in the case of Ullmark being injury prone, missing games and the backup playing more than he should.

Depends how good that depth is for me. I don’t know how wise it is to put all your chips in the basket of a 23 year old with 14 NHL games experience, as good as he is.

If he struggles and Ullmark gets hurt, we’re toast. Forsberg is at least NHL calibre, even if he’s not very good. So if the depth in Belleville is not, I’d be a little wary.

 

[Cosmix]

The only problem I have with Leevi being here next season is I’m not sure what you do in terms of depth.

If Sogaard clears waivers, at least he’s a call-up option, but you can’t guarantee that and even if he is here, he hasn’t been good when called up. Given Ullmark’s health, it feels like we need at least three NHL calibre goalies so the easiest thing to do is leave Leevi in the AHL and call him up when there’s an injury, and either re-sign Forsberg (I realize this will be unpopular) or find another back-up.

He deserves a shot but if it means we have no solid option in the event of injury, I don’t know if it’s the best move.

We would need to acquire another goaltender, perhaps via trade or UFA signing or European free agent signing.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Depends how good that depth is for me. I don’t know how wise it is to put all your chips in the basket of a 23 year old with 14 NHL games experience, as good as he is.

If he struggles and Ullmark gets hurt, we’re toast. Forsberg is at least NHL calibre, even if he’s not very good. So if the depth in Belleville is not, I’d be a little wary.

I just like the much higher ceiling potential. We know Forsberg will give about .890 save % on the year and that's what the expectations of him are and should continue to be. The backup position can lead to additional wins with higher performance though and even more so if your starter misses a lot of games to the point your backup to be a 1B. We expect Ullmark to miss a lot, so a play like Leevi over over Forsberg could end up as a big difference, or THE difference on making it in or not. It could still rear its head this year as a big factor if they miss out on a playoff spot, or the difference of a division spot to a wild card. As much as Forsberg has gotten it together a bit here, he's still a tier below what Leevi was giving the team.

Personally speaking, I have no interest at all in Forsberg being brought back either way.

 

[PlayOn]

I just like the much higher ceiling potential. We know Forsberg will give about .890 save % on the year and that's what the expectations of him are and should continue to be. The backup position can lead to additional wins with higher performance though and even more so if your starter misses a lot of games to the point your backup to be a 1B. We expect Ullmark to miss a lot, so a play like Leevi over over Forsberg could end up as a big difference, or THE difference on making it in or not. It could still rear its head this year as a big factor if they miss out on a playoff spot, or the difference of a division spot to a wild card. As much as Forsberg has gotten it together a bit here, he's still a tier below what Leevi was giving the team.

Personally speaking, I have no interest at all in Forsberg being brought back either way.

Yeah I think these are all fair points. And next time I watch Forsberg play I’ll probably agree with you, but on this day I have conflicting feelings. Guess we’ll also see how these next 2 months play out.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Yeah I think these are all fair points. And next time I watch Forsberg play I’ll probably agree with you, but on this day I have conflicting feelings. Guess we’ll also see how these next 2 months play out.

Ya lots could change.

I guess if I had to sum it up, I'd just say that I think our backup goalie could be a huge advantage, rather than someone that hopefully treads water, and that could be worth the risk to depth imo.