Player Discussion All Purpose Goaltending Thread

Bendium

Registered User
Oct 18, 2019
1,907
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Jonas Johansson 4th best goalie in NHL based on saves above expected. LOL, we can't win. Comrie is now our best goalie. Still, love Levi but kid is 21.
Ullmark, Johansson, UPL, Portillo. All MONSTER size 6-4 to 6-7 goaltenders. Most of those big net eating positional goalies take awhile to mature their game, because they need a combination of game experience to better predict the play, and match up with a defensive system that gives more predictable shots. We waited for Ullmark to mature and then let him walk, we had no patients with Johansson because we needed a starting goaltender, so we pushed his timeline, he failed and we tossed him. We still have UPL, who might make it if he stays as a backup for a few more years.

We had a nice pipeline there, but no patience to see it thru.
 

Svedu

Registered User
Apr 23, 2019
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1,560
Funny thing with Sabres fans. Nowhere do I read or hear the majority questioning your D's actual defending ability. And you know what? It pretty much sucks. Either that or your system. But keep on only blaming your goalies lol.

Not a single talented big goalie would have great stats with the Sabres now. Keep on dreaming.
Almost hoping you trade UPL so you can eat up your words later on.
 
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Svedu

Registered User
Apr 23, 2019
2,433
1,560
Yeah, the defense has been absolutely putrid.

It's no coincidence that goalies that play behind better defenses put up better numbers.
Finally someone who understands that there are more than one factor that is relevant.
 

Fjordy

bro
Jun 20, 2018
17,776
9,810
Funny thing with Sabres fans. Nowhere do I read or hear the majority questioning your D's actual defending ability. And you know what? It pretty much sucks. Either that or your system. But keep on only blaming your goalies lol.

Not a single talented big goalie would have great stats with the Sabres now. Keep on dreaming.
Almost hoping you trade UPL so you can eat up your words later on.
Is Comrie a great goalie? He has good numbers at the beginning of the season. Maybe 40 year old Anderson was great? Unlikely, but he was our best goalie last season.

Our defense and playing system certainly needs improvement, but so do the goalies only the blind can’t see this. Our last proper goalie was Ullmark and he gone three years ago. Adams never solved this problem.
 

Ace

Registered User
Oct 29, 2015
25,188
31,647
They went into a season where everyone said they have to make the playoffs with not only no #1 goalie…but carrying a guy who couldn’t win the #2 job, a guy who has only proven to be able to play backup when the starter takes 60 starts…and a 21 year old with no pro experience.

He had four off-seasons to prepare for this. Not one. Not zero. Four.

This is what he went with.

Not only didn’t he have a starting goalie…he planned to throw Levi in over his head years too early without any support they could count on whatsoever.

It is unacceptable to a level beyond his failure to replace Quinn, add a defensive center or address the glaring need for another D who can play big minutes and hard assignments. Which are all also unacceptable.

Adams has put together a woefully incomplete team after four off-seasons, despite cap space and assets to do his job. Unless his plan is to run 12 skilled forwards next year and beyond…he has no plan. A fourth line of Rosen-Kulich-Savoie on the way?

Moves had to be made and he has failed in every respect to make them. He is unequipped to build a roster. The situation in goal should be the end of him.

At some point this has to start mattering to everyone. Will a fifth off-season do it? A sixth? How many years does he get to fail the roster? We know four is perfectly fine with many. Which is insane.
 

Dirty Dog

Wooftastic
Jul 11, 2013
12,175
14,942
The doghouse
They went into a season where everyone said they have to make the playoffs with not only no #1 goalie…but carrying a guy who couldn’t win the #2 job, a guy who has only proven to be able to play backup when the starter takes 60 starts…and a 21 year old with no pro experience.

He had four off-seasons to prepare for this. Not one. Not zero. Four.

This is what he went with.

Not only didn’t he have a starting goalie…he planned to throw Levi in over his head years too early without any support they could count on whatsoever.

It is unacceptable to a level beyond his failure to replace Quinn, add a defensive center or address the glaring need for another D who can play big minutes and hard assignments. Which are all also unacceptable.

Adams has put together a woefully incomplete team after four off-seasons, despite cap space and assets to do his job. Unless his plan is to run 12 skilled forwards next year and beyond…he has no plan. A fourth line of Rosen-Kulich-Savoie on the way?

Moves had to be made and he has failed in every respect to make them. He is unequipped to build a roster. The situation in goal should be the end of him.

At some point this has to start mattering to everyone. Will a fifth off-season do it? A sixth? How many years does he get to fail the roster? We know four is perfectly fine with many. Which is insane.

It has been three off seasons since Ullmark left (with Ullmark being the actual goal the first of those three off seasons). Why do you always add an extra off-season?

I agree, I don’t like the state of the goaltending. But pretending it’s been four years of inactivity is untrue. It been two off seasons being content with this plan…a two year span where other similar teams have also came up equally short with their goaltending woes.

I’m fine with Levi being up here if that’s the plan, I just wish he was paired with a Vet to learn from. It’s like when the Bills had Allen and the other QB was Nathan peterman
 

TehDoak

Chili that wants to be here
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Feb 28, 2002
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They went into a season where everyone said they have to make the playoffs with not only no #1 goalie…but carrying a guy who couldn’t win the #2 job, a guy who has only proven to be able to play backup when the starter takes 60 starts…and a 21 year old with no pro experience.

He had four off-seasons to prepare for this. Not one. Not zero. Four.

This is what he went with.

Not only didn’t he have a starting goalie…he planned to throw Levi in over his head years too early without any support they could count on whatsoever.

This is true.

It is unacceptable to a level beyond his failure to replace Quinn

I mean, of all his failures, we have a lot of scoring depth on wing going down Rochester, I'll complain a lot about Adams, I think this specific instance is acceptable though. Especially with Olofsson still on the team. Not ideal, sure. But missing Quinn for an extended bit shouldn't cripple the team.

, add a defensive center

The bottom six as a whole needed a restructure. To run it back with Okposo, Jost, and Girgensons was stupid. Of the 3, Girgensons probably would have been one I would have kept.

or address the glaring need for another D who can play big minutes and hard assignments. Which are all also unacceptable.

Quality over quantity is what was needed here. We went Quantity route.

Adams has put together a woefully incomplete team after four off-seasons, despite cap space and assets to do his job. Unless his plan is to run 12 skilled forwards next year and beyond…he has no plan. A fourth line of Rosen-Kulich-Savoie on the way?

Moves had to be made and he has failed in every respect to make them. He is unequipped to build a roster. The situation in goal should be the end of him.

At some point this has to start mattering to everyone. Will a fifth off-season do it? A sixth? How many years does he get to fail the roster? We know four is perfectly fine with many. Which is insane.

Where Adams gets credit is for what he didn't do. He didn't go out and try to bandaid situations and get into bad contracts. He didn't burn through picks making desperate trades.

However, the issue is, he went the complete opposite. He hoarded picks. He didn't identify weaknesses in the prospect pool and bring in vets to fill those roles. There is a real lack of identifiable roles outside the top line and bottom line. I liked his singular addition trade in getting Greenway. However, there has to be more. And it should have started two seasons ago.

People like to handwave away Adams first year. Which, while I don't agree, he was still the GM and his hands were on the wheel of an underachieving team that was .500 the last year that dove bomb into last place. Yes, the coach deserves the blame, but so does Adams. But, even if you give him the benefit of the doubt, the last 3 seasons, the needs have been pretty consistent:

Improve defensively, solve goaltending.

Failing to do that in a significant way over 3 summers is a fire-able offense
 

oldgoalie

Goaltending matters.
Jan 7, 2004
13,379
6,276
VA
from the Sabres:
We have recalled goaltender Devin Cooley from the Rochester Americans.

link was broken but that was the headline.
 

MarkusKetterer

Shoulda got one game in


Its truly amazing how we'll roster 3 goalie but somehow end up using our #4....

Absolute bananalands!


IMG_0352.jpeg
 

dasaybz

da saybz
Aug 2, 2005
2,765
1,977
716
Pretty obvious we need one of these guys to step up and be viable. Unfortunately I don't think UPL has it in him. Can this guy just have a game where he gives up 2 or less? My patience is running extremely thin with him.
 

jd1970

Registered User
Feb 23, 2007
3,052
1,589
Downtown Buffalo
Where Adams gets credit is for what he didn't do. He didn't go out and try to bandaid situations and get into bad contracts. He didn't burn through picks making desperate
He gets credit for not waiving Tage Thompson.
He gets credit for not selling Rasmus Dahlin for cash.
 

Sabresfansince1980

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Sep 29, 2011
11,230
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Funny thing with Sabres fans. Nowhere do I read or hear the majority questioning your D's actual defending ability. And you know what? It pretty much sucks. Either that or your system. But keep on only blaming your goalies lol.

Not a single talented big goalie would have great stats with the Sabres now. Keep on dreaming.
Almost hoping you trade UPL so you can eat up your words later on.
The board has been pretty consistent in criticizing the team defense. Last night Tuch/Skinner botched a rush with a too cute pass leading to a rush against resulting in the 1st GA. The 2nd was a sloppy pass by Dahlin into Samuelsson's skates going for a breakaway. Another stupid TO giving up a shorty breakaway JUST LIKE last season's shit play...then two deflections including a dumb-luck double body bounce for the losing GA. UPL and and any other goalie can't buy a break with this team in front of them. It just doesn't matter who's in the crease when they play like that...ALL the time.

May as well send Levi down and let him develop while the roster ages and gets some defensive experience/responsibility in their game...maybe within the next two years...???
 

Irie

Registered User
Nov 14, 2010
4,685
4,636
Pacific Northwest
Funny thing with Sabres fans. Nowhere do I read or hear the majority questioning your D's actual defending ability. And you know what? It pretty much sucks. Either that or your system. But keep on only blaming your goalies lol.

Not a single talented big goalie would have great stats with the Sabres now. Keep on dreaming.
Almost hoping you trade UPL so you can eat up your words later on.

There is a substantial contingent of posters who have been posting for a couple of seasons now that it does not matter what average NHL goalie they bring in, the results are going to be the same until the coaching staff installs it's often talked about upcoming defensive system.

But if you lurk around these boards from time to time, you will get spammed with "need a goalie" posts from four or five posters that post the same BS narrative multiple times after every loss.

While it may seem surprising to not see much pushback to the "NEED A GOALIE NOW" posts, it is because everyone here has responded to them ad nauseum and the majority of posters just ignore them now.

But honestly, most posters here know there is a direct correlation with the team playing sound defensively and the goalie numbers being good and the reverse when the team plays wide open shinny hockey and hangs their goalies out to dry. It is just a few posters that do not understand this - that or they have a nefarious agenda and are trying to sway public opinion with their bullshit (there are a couple of those here who post in bad faith prolifically).
 

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