Buffalo Sabres 2016-17 Roster Outlook: Goaltending
The Sabres’ goaltending situation is a little rocky for next season.
Right now, the Buffalo Sabres have just one NHL goaltender signed for next season: Robin Lehner.
They also have Linus Ullmark in the pipeline, signed for one more year. And…. that’s about it.
Chad Johnson is set to become an unrestricted free agent, while Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey Makarov are both set to be RFAs.
This is one position the Buffalo Sabres absolutely have some work to do on over the summer, with potential for vacancies at the NHL and AHL levels.
If you bring up Ullmark and have Lehner & Ullmark as your NHL duo next season, there’s certainly a risk there.
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Lehner has been great when he’s been in the lineup this season, but missed a good chunk of it due to injury and is now out yet again. The Sabres seem to be acting cautiously in dealing with his injury, which is important, but it’s hard not to think about what ramifications this could have for the team’s goaltending next season.
It also wouldn’t be fair to talk about the Buffalo Sabres’ goaltenders for next season without considering the option of re-signing Johnson.
He stepped up majorly when Lehner got injured and took on a huge workload after coming into the season with the mindset of being the backup goaltender. It’s undoubtedly quite a shift to go from this space where you’re likely to either share the workload or maybe be more of a backup, to one where you’re the guy everyone is counting on due to an unforeseen injury.
This *is* an editorial, after all, so I think it’s only fair that I tell you what I’d do with this situation.
The Buffalo Sabres organization is at a critical turning point, the point where you go from ‘rebuilding’ to just… building, being a good team, a playoff contender. And maybe that’s still a few years off. But either way, that mindset needs to begin right now, and the pieces that the team is putting together need to reflect that.
We already know the Buffalo Sabres will have Lehner next season; the question is in his partner, and I’d say that Johnson deserves that other spot.
It’s not to say that Ullmark doesn’t deserve it, but I’d like to see him get another year in the AHL under his belt and give him a little more time. Reevaluate things after next season when Lehner’s contract is up and see where things stand then.
But for now, let Ullmark be the number one guy in Rochester.
While we’re at it — let Makarov walk. He’s barely played this season and at this point, it seems honestly unfair to tend him an offer and try to get him to stay in North America if he isn’t going to play.
And just keep cutting from there. Let Lieuwen walk, too.
He’s solid when he’s on point but has been ravaged with injuries over the past few seasons and it’s a questionable future with him in the Buffalo Sabres organization.
Does that sound harsh? Maybe. But it’s what it comes down to in the end, and Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray has to make some decisions. Maybe he qualifies Lieuwen because, after all, you do still need guys in Rochester. Or maybe he picks up another NHL netminder in free agency to put alongside Lehner instead of Johnson.
Who knows what he has up his sleeve, to be honest.
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What would you do if you were Tim Murray?