Buffalo Sabres Free Agent Frenzy: Five Goaltenders To Target
What should the Buffalo Sabres do in free agency?
To date, we’ve talked about a few positions and what the Buffalo Sabres can do in free agency in terms of filling up some of the open spots on the team for the upcoming season.
We talked about defensemen, both ones that the Buffalo Sabres should target and those they should avoid; we also did the same for the centers.
Today, we move onto the goaltenders.
Here’s the current situation for the Buffalo Sabres heading into free agency:
Currently Locked Up
Pending UFAs
Pending RFAs
At this point, it seems pretty clear that Makarov is gone. He’s expressed some harsh feelings against the Buffalo Sabres organization and city of Buffalo as a whole, and his intentions may be to head back to his native Russia and find playing time there.
Although the Buffalo Sabres could easily get their NHL goaltenders set in a matter of minutes by choosing to put Ullmark up in the big league next season, I can’t see it happening.
Yes, he had his first taste of NHL action last season, and he wasn’t bad.
But if I were Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray, I’d give Ullmark the starting spot in Rochester, where he can develop in just his second season in North America, and be ready for a call-up if needed.
So – where do the Buffalo Sabres go to fill that second goaltending spot, assuming Lehner becomes your full-time starter next season?
Here are some ideas. In all, the goaltending free agent pool this year has about 60 men on it – more than half of whom will be RFAs, and several of whom have already signed overseas in Europe.
Next: Trying for Scrivens
1. Ben Scrivens
Ben Scrivens is one goaltender that I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing as the Buffalo Sabres’ backup next season. Though he didn’t play a whole lot this past season with Montreal, I like his style and I think he could fit in well in Buffalo.
This past season, Scrivens appeared in 15 games with the Habs, 14 of which he started. He finished the season 5-8-0-0 with a .906 save percentage and 3.07 GAA. He allowed 42 goals-against on 447 shots faced.
Scrivens also spent part of last season in the AHL, playing 10 games with the Bakersfield Condors and one game with the St. John’s IceCaps.
Prior to that, Scrivens has spent much of his professional career with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, where his strong play in the AHL (with the Marlies) led to numerous NHL call-ups. He’s also spent time with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.
The 29-year-old Cornell alum is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. His cap hit last season was $2.3 million with an identical salary – and he’ll actually end up being the most expensive goaltender on my list.
Next: It's Reimer, Reimer......
2. James Reimer
Okay, I’m starting to notice a pattern here. I swear, I’m not going solely after former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltenders for the Buffalo Sabres to target this offseason. But seeing both Scrivens AND Reimer on the pending UFA list was just too good, and I had to go for it.
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Reimer is another one of those goalies who wasn’t the best this past season, but he also wasn’t bad. He split the season between Toronto and San Jose – where he made it to the Stanley Cup Final – and overall went 17-14-0-7 on the season.
Reimer’s year included an impressive 2.31 GAA and .922 save percentage as he allowed just 88 goals against on 1,128 shots faced. He also registered three shutouts on the season.
The 28-year-old was originally drafted by Toronto 99th overall in 2006, and had spent all of his professional career in the Toronto system up until the midst of this season, when he was traded to San Jose in late February. He’s set to be a UFA this July after earning $2 million this past season (with a $2.3 million cap hit.)
Reimer has regularly appeared in 30+ games in each of the past six NHL seasons and would be a nice addition to the Buffalo Sabres’ goaltending tandem.
Next: Mrazek? Yes, Please.
3. Petr Mrazek
I really do try to stay away from restricted free agents when it comes to this list, but here’s one I couldn’t back off from: Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek.
The 24-year-old is set to be an RFA this summer after earning $738,000 this past season, with an identical cap hit. He’d likely be looking for a raise this summer (as players usually do, eh?) but could still be a steal for the Buffalo Sabres.
Mrazek appeared in 54 games this season for the Red Wings, starting 49 of those. He went 27-16-0-6 with a 2.33 GAA and .921 save percentage while carrying a big workload. His season included four shutouts, and he even managed to rack up a pair of assists.
Mrazek has been with the Red Wings organization since they drafted him in 2010, 141st overall. And with the numbers he’s put up, it seems likely the Red Wings would want to keep him, and that’s where the trouble would lie for the Buffalo Sabres.
They’d have to push hard for Mrazek, and in the end, they may not even end up getting him. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be worth it.
Would you take him on the Buffalo Sabres?
Next: Add Another Latvian
4. Kristers Gudlevskis
Kristers Gudlevskis will be the other restricted free agent I’ll put on this list. Again, RFAs are always trickier to pick up, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider it.
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The 23-year-old Gudlevskis earned $615,000 this season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, with a slightly-lower cap hit of $608,000.
He spent most of this past season in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, where he went 16-12-8 with a .907 save percentage and 2.83 GAA.
Gudlevskis hasn’t really had much of a chance in the NHL – he played one game with the Lightning in 2013-14 and one game this season – so to put him in a big role would, no doubt, be a risk.
But I like him. I like his style, and I think there’s something special there. At 6-3, he’s got some size to him but seems to know how to use it. And while the spots in Tampa Bay seem filled up by the likes of Bishop and Vasilevskiy, I can certainly see the potential for Gudlevskis to step up.
Maybe he wouldn’t be the top guy on my list for the Buffalo Sabres to go after, but as an option – sure.
Next: Last, But Not Least
5. Chad Johnson
If you’d have asked me a year ag o if I would’ve been talking about the Buffalo Sabres re-signing Chad Johnson, I might have laughed. But in all honesty, I liked what I saw this season from him, and I think he’s a viable option for the Buffalo Sabres going forward.
He was supposed to be a backup goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres this past season, with Lehner set to be the frontman. Of course, all that changed with Lehner’s injury on opening night, and all of a sudden, Johnson was thrust into the spotlight, for more than half of the season!
In the end, he appeared in 45 of the Sabres’ 81 games and started 40 of those. Johnson went 22-16-0-4, with a 2.36 GAA and .920 save percentage. He allowed 102 goals-against on 1,270 shots faced in 2,591 minutes played. He even put up one shutout on the season.
The 30-year-old did well for the Buffalo Sabres this past season, and from what I can tell, he also seemed to genuinely like the city of Buffalo and living here, too. If I were Buffalo Sabres GM TIm Murray, I’d give him a second look before letting him hit the free agent market this summer and consider re-signing him, either before, or (if he’s available) after July 1.
Next: Mock Draft: Buffalo Sabres Pick Nylander
What other free agent goaltenders would you like to see the Buffalo Sabres target this offseason?