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Sabres: Goalie depth chart projections for 2021 NHL season

By Jacob LeBlanc

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 11: Carter Hutton #40 of the Buffalo Sabres defends his net during the third period of play in the NHL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on January 11, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 11: Carter Hutton #40 of the Buffalo Sabres defends his net during the third period of play in the NHL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on January 11, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 7: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save during the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 7, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 7: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save during the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 7, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

2. Carter Hutton

It seems pretty obvious that Carter Hutton will start the season as the backup goalie on the Sabres. Hutton had a fairly underwhelming 2019-2020 season with a .898 SV% and a 3.18 GAA.

He played in 31 games, compared to the 34 games that Linus Ullmark played in. There is really no stats to support starting Hutton over Ullmark this season.

Hutton has struggled since being traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Sabres after the 2017-2018 season, a year in which he posted career highs in SV% and GAA. But being a career backup before being traded to Buffalo, he has not shown much to prove he should be a starter since filling that role in Buffalo.

Hutton being 35 years old, is a good veteran presence on the team and in the goalie room. He has shown flashes of greatness every once in a while in his time in Buffalo, but nothing consistent enough to be a solid number one goalie.

1. Linus Ullmark

Linus Ullmark proved last year that he deserves to start this season as the starting goaltender for the Sabres. Ullmark outplayed Hutton in pretty much every relevant statistical category last season. He had a .915 SV% and a 2.69 GAA in the 2019-2020 season.

Over the last two seasons, Ullmark has pretty much split time with Hutton in goal for the Sabres, but last year was the first time he has played in more games than Hutton.

He has also improved from one season to the next, so I am excited to see if he can continue to improve and provide the consistency in goal that the Sabres and their fans have been looking for since Ryan Miller left.

Next. What to expect from Linus Ullmark in 2021. dark

Ullmark is currently 27 years old, so he has plenty of good years left. And if he continues to show improvement, he could be a key piece of this team for years to come. Between him, Johansson, and Luukkonen, the Sabres have some young potential at the goalie position.

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