In the blink of an eye, goaltending uncertainty in Buffalo has gone from bad to worse.
Kevyn Adams has been searching for another goalie since he took the GM job with the Sabres last June.
It is really too bad the Sabres were not able to claim veteran puck stopper Aaron Dell off waivers. On Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs tried to sneak Dell through waivers and on Monday, the New Jersey Devils claimed him.
The Devils used their waiver claim, which was one position before that of the Sabres.
Just two hours before puck drop in Philadelphia on Monday night, the Sabres were forced to recall AHL goalie Jonas Johansson from their taxi squad because Linus Ullmark was deemed unavailable for "personal reasons".
Consequently, Carter Hutton will start tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Hutton gave up five goals in the 6-4 opening night loss to the Washington Capitals.
Ullmark was supposed to start tonight against the Flyers after acquitting himself well in his first start of the season.
Ullmark very played well in Friday night's 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Earlier this month, Ullmark was forced to miss the first few days of training camp due to "visa quarantine issues".
In late October, Ullmark, 27, signed one year "show me" contract for $2.6M AAV.
Johansson is not ready to be an NHL goalie. He still needs a full season and a lot of coaching in the AHL. Johansson did not have a good training camp. He was not good in either of Buffalo's two Gold vs. Blue scrimmages.
I have been documenting for the past nine months that goaltending is the Achilles heel of the Sabres. Today, the anxiety has elevated with the news of Ullmark having to miss tonight's game.
In the offseason, Adams invested mightily in his roster. He saw the deficiencies when he inherited his roster from Jason Botterill. Adams convinced the Pegulas to exceed their self-imposed salary cap by adding star power and a nuclear offensive weapon in Taylor Hall. Adams also added veteran leaders in Eric Staal, Toby Rieder, Cody Eakin and Matt Irwin to insure that Eichel and Company would not go astray in times of trouble.
The Buffalo defense is as strong today as its been in years with nine capable NHL defensemen on the roster. Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Jake McCabe, Henri Jokiharju and Colin Miller have played exceptionally well in the first two games of the season.
Adams has defense depth and draft choices to trade away for an accomplished veteran goalie.
The Sabres missed the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs by mere percentage points. Had they won one more game in regulation, they would have made the playoffs and the Montreal Canadiens would have gone to the cottage.
In my opinion, the Sabres are a playoff team this season IF they get above average goaltending. Otherwise, it's better luck next season.
In the next 24 hours, Adams must make a trade for a goalie. The Sabres play the Flyers again on Tuesday night. He can't wish and hope and pray that his goaltending issues work themselves out. Buffalo enters Monday night's action with an 0-2 record. Two looses to the Flyers would make them 0-4. They play Washington again on Friday and Saturday night. The Sabres cannot make the playoffs this season if they start the season winless is it first six games.
The Sabres have been linked in trade chatter to the Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets. Marc Andre Fleury is the goalie that I would target provided that the Knights absorb 50% of his $7 million annual average value. I'm also high on Desert Dogs tendy Antti Ranta and Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo.
More to come.
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