Linus Ullmark - Worth Drafting? - Cap League

[deanyoungblood79]

I currently have Andersen (5m) and Allen (4.3) as my goalies in a 12 team cap league.

I don?t have a pick until the 4th round in our draft but was looking at Ullmark as a sneaky middle round pick as he may end up as the starter for only 750k.

What do you guys think of his chances to get the starter job this year?

[ericdaoust]

I don't think he is a starter on day one. He'll have to beat someone out. That said he definitely has a place in some keeper leagues. Not sure about this one though.

[lucafen4]

50-50. it really depends on who Buffalo grabs in the next week or two. I can see him getting 30-35 starts even as a back up - there just isn't any legit #1 goalies available that I would want to plug 60+ games.

[Poutine]

I agree that he has sneaky value but you should expect 20-30 starts this year, with the possibility of 40-50 starts next year. He will need to be eased into a starting goalie workload.

And yes, a lot of it depends on who Buffalo signs as their other goalie. Carter Hutton visited Buffalo so they may be his destination of choice, in which case Ullmark might do well in a 1A/1B scenario.

[pmorrow]

Sounds like Hutton is the Sabres top choice. That would give Ullmark a really good chance to play 40, maybe 50 games. I wouldn't count on him as a starter though, and don't take him until you're near the end of your starter list at the draft table. As a #3 he has risk, even though his cap hit is minimal.

[stevegamer]

I like Ullmark a lot for you. You have 2 established goalies, and he's a cheap #3.

The clearly available & realistic options for the Sabres to bring in as a #1 or tandem lead are: Anderson, Hutton, Mrazek. I may have forgotten someone, but most of the other guys that came to mind, aren't guys I think have shown that they can be in that role successfully. I'm sure there are other goalies who could be acquired in trade - Greiss, one of Elliott/Neuvirth, maybe.

Nobody I've listed is a huge impediment to getting a good number of tandem starts, but if they bring in a more established guy, that guy will be the starter. Most of the guys listed are also injury-prone, so he should get 30-40 starts, I'd think. More is asking for some things to fall his way, but definitely a good #3 option with a path to starting soon.

[als_revenge]

I like Ullmark a lot more if you can slot him into your minors spot. I really don't think he'll be the starter; I think Buffalo will sign somebody on July 1st (even if it's only a vet to a one year deal or something). Ullmark is more of a long-play to me.

[Poutine]

GM Botteril has already gone on the record to say that Ullmark will be playing in Buffalo this year. They wouldn't do that unless they planned to give him a handful of starts at least (20-30 minimum), otherwise he's better off being the starting goalie in the AHL.

I don't think there will be a clear starter in Buffalo for a few years, which is to Ullmark's advantage for his development.

[deanyoungblood79]

Wow. Thanks for all the feedback guys! I was offline all day and just got home.

If he gets 20-30 starts for 750k, I'd be super happy. Though, I'd most definitely stash him on my minors bench while I can.

I figure I have about 1.8m per player to spend on my seven picks. So any value picks I can scoop up will only help that number.