Buffalo Sabres Goaltending Situation: What To Do? Part III

Today, we close out our three-part series of looking at the Buffalo Sabres organization’s goaltending situation with a glance at their ECHL affiliate, the Elmira Jackals.

The Elmira Jackals have had the most turnover of any team in the Buffalo Sabres organization. Yesterday, we discussed the Rochester Americans and their netminders, while the day prior was dedicated to the Sabres’ NHL club.

Let’s finish things off with a look at the ECHL.

Note that all statistics going forward are accurate as of March 10, 2016.

As it stands right now, the Jackals have had six netminders appear in at least one game this season for the Sabres’ ECHL affiliate.

Those goalies are: C.J. Motte, Shane Owen, Niklas Lundstrom, Sam Marotta, Alex Vazzano and Alain Valiquette.

Four of them are no longer with the team, so let’s look at those guys first.

First up: 25-year-old Sudbury native Alain Valiquette, who appeared in two games with the Jackals.

He played in back-to-back games for the Sabres’ ECHL affiliate on February 26 and 27th. In total, he allowed five goals on 57 shots faced in 96 minutes of play.

More from Sabre Noise

• 3 biggest standouts at Buffalo Sabres 2023 Prospects Challenge
• 3 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres final Prospects Challenge game
• Buffalo Sabres experiment with lesser-known talent in loss to Pens
• Buffalo Sabres 75 Bold Predictions for 2023-24: Prediction 51
• Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh: A quick look at the Penguins prospects

Since then, he’s moved on to play a pair of games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, also of the ECHL. Valiquette was traded to Greenville on March 3 for cash considerations. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

Next, let’s talk about Alex Vazzano, a 25-year-old Trumbull, CT native who played five games for the Jackals this season. He spent time with Louisiana (SPHL), Reading, Danbury (FHL) and Cincinnati before joining the Jackals.

He last played for Elmira on Valentine’s Day and has since played in one game for Reading, where he played alongside fellow former Buffalo Sabres prospect Connor Knapp.

Vazzano was claimed off waivers by the Jackals on January 13. He was loaned to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for one day, then returned. Four days later, the Jackals released him from his standard player contract.

Going further back in the season, we’ll talk next about Sam Marotta, the 25-year-old Bridgewater, MA native who spent most of last season with the Jackals. He appeared in just six games with them this season, however, registering a .893 save percentage and 3.15 GAA.

Marotta was traded to Rapid City on December 14. He’s since played 14 games for the Rush, going 1-9-2 with a .908 save percentage and 2.91 GAA.

Niklas Lundstrom is an interesting case. The 23-year-old Swedish netminder was drafted by the St. Louis Blues back in 2011, with the 132nd overall selection.

He joined the Jackals on November 17 after being reassigned by the Blues from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. He was then reassigned *to* the AHL club on January 9.

In 13 games with Elmira, Lundstrom went 8-3-0-0 with a 2.92 GAA and .929 save percentage.

He’s since been traded to the Edmonton Oilers organization and been assigned to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

That leaves us with just two: Motte and Owen.

Owen, a 25-year-old Markham native, has appeared in just two games with Elmira since being traded to the Jackals, but 36 ECHL matches overall this season – mostly with the Indy Fuel. He was traded from Indy just about a week ago, on March 3.

Overall, he’s got a respectable 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage and has gone 15-19-0-0 this season.

Finally, there’s the rookie, Motte. He’s appeared in 40 games with the Jackals, gone 15-20-1-1 and registered a 2.78 GAA and .912 save percentage.

Note: Chris Bourgeois, an Oswego native, dressed in one game for the Jackals but never actually played, so has no stats to discuss. Duluth, MN native Matt Cooper also dressed in two games but never played.

Here’s quick rundown of the goaltending pairs (starter-backup) we’ve seen this season with the Buffalo Sabres’ ECHL affiliate:

• Motte-Bourgeois (1 game, 1 loss)
• Motte-Cooper (2 games, 2 losses)
• Owen-Motte (2 games, 2 wins)
• Motte-Valiquette (3 games, 2 wins, 1 loss)
• Motte-Marotta (4 games, 1 win, 3 losses)
• Vazzano-Motte (5 games, 2 wins, 3 losses)
• Marotta-Motte (6 games, 4 wins, 2 losses)
• Lundstrom-Motte (10 games, 6 wins, 4 losses)
• Motte-Lundstrom (12 games, 9 wins, 3 losses)
• Motte-Vazzano (14 games, 4 wins, 10 losses)

So what happens next season?

Next: Sabres' Goaltending Situation: Part I

In the end, it’s really difficult to predict at this level. A lot of what happens at this level depends on what the Buffalo Sabres do with their goaltenders in the NHL and AHL, thanks to that trickle-down effect. There’s also often a lot of turnover in this league (as evidenced by the fact that the Jackals have gone through so many netminders this season) and a lot depends on college players coming in, tryouts signed, etc.