Linus Hitting The (Ull)Mark!!

[Fighting_Emu]

So I think we can all agree somebody is going to emerge as a clear winner in the goaltending carousel that is the Beefalo Sabrays (See The Office for reference to what a sabray is :P). Despite their scrappy record they have made some key gains this year. Eichel is proving hes an absolute superstar offensively. Dahlin is starting to emerge as the Dman they saw when they drafted him (and everybody was wont to throw around the "G" word). They caught a lucky bounce with Olofsson who may be something of a one trick pony but is precisely the pony the sabres need and just happens to be damned good at said trick- lol! This is a team on the rise and with some internal development, a few more lucky bounces, and some crafty general managering they could be on the verge of constructing a competetive dynasty around some of the best core assets in the game today!

So the question of the day becomes: who is going to backstop for these blue and banana colored behemoths??

Lets start with the easy elimination- Harter Cutton- or whatever his name is :P Im from Thunder bay and I atually know his family indirectly. When I had heard about his off-season and his focus this year I was ready to take one last swing on him- but the fact remains he botched it. He did what hes always done- he played Competently until he had to play consecutively (a starters workload) and then his play deteriotaed catastrophically (as it has always been apt to do). I think at this point, at his age, and when his record, we can probably agree that hes an above average backup who can be an asset when hes not relied upon for a starters workload. So...

Dobber made a prediction in the ramblings the other day that stuck in my craw a bit. He pegged Jonas Johansson as the runaway starter by next year (or something to that effect). Whyd it bug me? Well I guess for starters its such a cheeky bet. I mean if it doesnt happen it was so "out there" nobody is going to hold you accountable if you miss anyways. Then if you do hit- you look like an absolute genius- lmao! The thing that really bugged me though is that as a poolie you could probably get Johansson for almost free wheras Ullmark would likely require some kind of investment (and in that vein if you can get JJ for free and have the roster space I would absolutely reccomend it. The thing is JJ was slated to be the type Ullmark already is which is a 1a/1b type of goalie with his ability to be a starter still unclear at this point. While I do think hes playing competently right now, maybe even good- I really feel like hes a trendy pick in that hes new, hes inexpensive, and you get to look brilliant if he hits.

JJ is only even in the discussion because Ukko Pekka has shown hes not nearly ready for the pro game. I believe his upside is still legitmately there but weve seen this happen planty of times where a team plays the veteran while the goalie prospect is "marinating" and then the vetran has success and forces the teams hand. Im reminded of LA. I know Im dati9ng myself here but there was a time Price, Rask and Bernier were unanimously pegged as the goalies of the future for theuir respective clubs. Quick was viewed as a good but not great stopgap while Bernier got his reps in. The problem is they started to have success on the backs of a superstar center (Kopitar) and superstar Dman (Doughty)- sound familiar? Im just saying I love me some Ukko but if they have a guy stepping up theyre not going to take that for granted. Which naturally brings us to...

Linus!! ok, ok- so I know hes not the sexiest name out there (although his actual name is pretty badass- i wish I knew a Linus!)- but lets look at the facts in front of us. he played competently when called upon. a 9.14 save percebntage and 2.72 GAA is not mind-blowing but its not terrible either- and lets be clear there were nights this team was terrible! When Hutton went form stellar to stinky Ullmark quietly provided a calm stability. Hes been very low maintenance accepting the backup role when they wanted to push their chips in with Hutton and stepped up when they called on him to be a starter. he was plus 500 on a non-playoff team and although his numbers dont sparkle- there were not a lot of games you can point at and definitively say "that one was Ullmarks fault". As far as I can tell he gives his team a chance to win every night which theyre not going to do going through growing pains and some fairly heavy roster turnover.

In conclusion what Im saying is this team is on the rise and I think hes got a very good chance to "Martin Jones" his way into relevance. At 26 hes got some room to improve and if Dahlin is indeed a generational talent he'll be able to develop some organic chemistry with him and some goalies are able to build a career off of playing a "first stop" style where they count on their defence to cleanup the resulting mess past the first shot and minimize rebound/further chances. If he can build that with Dahlin playing on a roster where Eichel always gives you a chance to outsprint your opposition on the scoreboard it could be a recipe for success! Its not sexy, it doesnt feel especially new but for poolies this might be your chance to add a guy who wcould hypothetically vastly outperfomr his decidedly "meh" name value. theres another goalie having success on a team built around a superstar forward and a superstar D- with any luck Ullmark becomes the next Grubauer. Thats the way Im valuing him today- so go on shake ya tail feathas/get your bids in!!!

[Bubba55]

Ok, it took an hour or so, but I finally got through this (:

Good analysis Emu! You hypothesis is not without merit. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. What is interesting is that Hutton is signed for another very cap friendly year whereas both Jonas and Linus are RFA this summer. Keeping an eye on those contracts might indicate which direction the Sabres are heading in with their goaltending.

[everfeb]

You're a fast reader Bubba lol. Nice write-up Emu. Wish this site had an easy LIKE BUTTON which I would have clicked on.

Ok, it took an hour or so, but I finally got through this (:

Good analysis Emu! You hypothesis is not without merit. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. What is interesting is that Hutton is signed for another very cap friendly year whereas both Jonas and Linus are RFA this summer. Keeping an eye on those contracts might indicate which direction the Sabres are heading in with their goaltending.