Eric Comrie is the Buffalo Sabres biggest offseason mystery
The Buffalo Sabres carried three goaltenders last year, but that won’t be an option in 2023-24. And Eric Comrie looks like the odd man out.
Here’s the problem for the Buffalo Sabres: They have a potential tandem featuring two young goaltenders in Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but they also have three NHL-caliber netminders as Eric Comrie is also under contract.
One thing I want to make clear is that, contrary to what some are saying, you can’t just up and terminate a contract in the NHL like you can in other sports, meaning you’ll likely see Comrie in the Queen City come September. Under specific circumstances, this is possible.
And of course, you can always trade someone under contract, or eventually place them on regular waivers, where another team can claim them. For Eric Comrie, the latter is the likeliest option.
The Sabres most likely want to keep him around for training camp to put pressure on and hopefully bring out the best in Luukkonen. Not that Comrie wouldn’t be there solely for that purpose; if he remained in Buffalo and outplayed Luukkonen in camp, then he deserves the backup job in the net, but let’s be real – we all know whose job it is to lose.
Look for the Buffalo Sabres to try and keep Eric Comrie around
Injuries are always inevitable, and one thing we know about Eric Comrie is that he has proven himself to be a capable spot starter in the NHL, dating back to his days with the Winnipeg Jets. That said, the Sabres will most likely keep Comrie for training camp, and when Levi and Luukkonen predictably win the starting and backup jobs, respectively, Buffalo will try to allocate him to Rochester.
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Of course, this runs the risk of another team potentially claiming Comrie, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought back Malcolm Subban as insurance. We’ve seen multiple teams claim Comrie in the past, so it wouldn’t be an unexpected move if it happened again.
Source: After unique season, Sabres goalie Eric Comrie’s future in Buffalo unclear by Bill Hoppe, BuffaloHockeyBeat.com