Buffalo Sabres: The goaltender situation is better than you think
By Sion Fawkes
You may think the Buffalo Sabres are in a tough position at goaltender this season. But it is actually brighter than you may realize.
Okay, so the top two goaltenders in the Buffalo Sabres system is an injury-prone 41-year-old named Craig Anderson and a man named Eric Comrie, who has just 28 games of NHL experience. The oft-injured and inconsistent Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could potentially sneak his way onto the roster if he has a good camp. But he has just 13 games of experience to his name.
In the AHL, the Sabres have Michael Houser and Malcolm Subban, both of whom saw limited time at goaltender in Buffalo last season when injuries knocked out Luukkonen and Anderson. Subban was fringe in 2021-22, and Houser, like Comrie and Luukkonen, has limited NHL experience. So much, the latter was wearing his Rochester Americans helmet during Sabres games.
The Buffalo Sabres goaltender situation looks bleak, but it is in much better shape than you may realize – Let’s break down the NHL-caliber goaltenders
It’s tough to really pinpoint which goaltender is even the best in the system at this point. Luukkonen has the most potential of the five top goaltenders that are currently signed to the Sabres. And he did have some fantastic outings when the Sabres gave him a chance last season. While Luukkonen finished just 2-5-1, his 0.917 save percentage and 2.74 GAA turned heads.
Anderson’s save percentage sunk to just 0.897, his lowest since 2010-11 during his stint with the Colorado Avalanche. But the clear upside is that he also finished the year 17-12-2. Now, when you allow a GAA of 3.12, it’s clear you had some good scoring on your side. But still, Anderson’s record shows he can produce. He just isn’t a starter at this point in his career. Look for Anderson to spot start.
I am higher on Comrie than I am on both Anderson and Luukkonen. At least for this season, given his impressive outing in Winnipeg despite his small sample size. He finished with a 0.920 save percentage, a 10-5-1 record, and a 2.58 GAA, signaling he is on the up and up.
While we don’t know what Comrie will look like starting a full season, we do know that Anderson is a backup and Luukkonen has yet to show consistency and durability despite good numbers at the NHL level. Therefore, I am looking for Comrie to start.