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Buffalo Sabres: Breaking down Eric Comrie’s strengths and weaknesses

By Sion Fawkes

Apr 21, 2022; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie (1) comes off the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes before the game at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2022; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie (1) comes off the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes before the game at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 27, 2022; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets goalie Eric Comrie (1) celebrates their win against the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of the third period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Weaknesses

Comrie, the 59th overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, drastically fell below expectations, given his 200-plus games in the AHL and minute NHL sample size. And even last season when he made it to the NHL, you need to wonder why the Jets continued to play Connor Hellebuyck for so many games over Comrie. Especially when the latter was posting good numbers.

However, you can make the argument that Hellebuyck is one of the league’s best goaltenders, winning the Vezina Trophy and First Team All-Star honors in 2019-20. He was also a Second Team All-Star in 2017-18, finishing second for the Vezina Trophy that year.

But it is also logical to wonder why no one seemed to want Comrie. Why did he bounce around so many teams and why did the Jets seemingly give up on him multiple times?

Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News noted that Comrie needed just 90 more minutes of playing time to become an RFA. Instead, the already-eliminated Jets decided not to try and allow Comrie to reach that threshold. While he played more often than Hellebuyck from April 15th to May 1st, the Jets clearly didn’t show enough urgency to place the RFA tag on him.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff stated the Jets could not afford Comrie’s impending arbitration award if he became an RFA. This implies the Jets would have let Comrie walk away as a UFA anyway. But you can always trade away an RFA once you retain their rights and the Jets let him go for nothing.

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