The Buffalo Sabres claimed Colten Ellis off waivers at the beginning of last season, and at the time, they didn't really know what they had. The former third-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 NHL Draft had yet to make his NHL debut.
The Sabres would find out relatively early that they had a pretty good goalie, and he was a key part of a three-goalie rotation during the season. He finished the season with 16 games played with an 8-4-2 record, a save percentage of .903, and a goals against average of 2.90.
Ellis is now entering the final year of his contract, and the Sabres have some choices to make regarding their goalie, as Elliotte Friedman noted in a recent episode of 32 Thoughts.
It is no secret that the Sabres have been chasing Connor Hellebuyck this summer, and Friedman noted that with or without the Vezina Trophy, Ellis was going to have a spot on the roster. "With no Hellebuyck, it is still going to be [Ukko-Pekka] Luukkonen, [Alex] Lyon, and Ellis. And with Hellebuyck there, it was probably going to be Ellis."
Buffalo Sabres need to make sure Ellis gets enough games to make him a restricted free agent
With Ellis entering the final year of his contract, the Buffalo Sabres should at least be thinking about whether or not they want to extend him. Whether it is an extension now or after the season, the Sabres have one clear objective for Ellis this upcoming season.
As Friedman notes, Ellis could be a Group-6 UFA next offseason, depending on how many games he plays in. This is a clause for players who are 25 years or older, with three professional seasons (either NHL or AHL), and have played 28 games or fewer with 30 minutes of ice time.
Last season, Ellis had 15 games where he had 30 or more minutes, so this season, he needs 13 games with that amount of ice time for him to be a restricted free agent.
While the Sabres did have three goalies for the entire season, they typically didn't have to worry about rotating all three. A majority of the time, the Sabres had a player out, and they could just work a normal rotation with two.
If all three are healthy, Lindy Ruff will need to figure out the best way to rotate the position so that it doesn't allow them to get too rusty while also keeping this contract requirement in mind for Colten Ellis.
The Sabres have plenty of questions surrounding the goalie position, but Colten Ellis should be part of their plans moving forward. They need to ensure that this upcoming season isn't his last in Buffalo.
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