Buffalo Sabres: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season
By Adam Stocker
4. Is Carter Hutton the answer in goal?
No position in hockey can determine a team’s success or failure more than a goalie. Since acquiring Dominik Hasek in 1992, the Sabres have had solid play in net almost every season. When Hasek left, he was replaced by Martin Biron and then Ryan Miller. However, since Miller was traded to St. Louis in 2014, the Sabres have struggled to replace him.
Former general manager Tim Murray gave up a first round pick for Robin Lehner, who proved not to be the answer in net. Botterill decided to move on from Lehner this season, not even giving the goalie a qualifying offer.
With Lehner gone, Botterill signed Carter Hutton to a three-year contract, following a career year in St. Louis. Hutton posted a .931 save percentage last season in 26 starts. With Buffalo, Hutton will be expected to start at least twice as many games next season. If Hutton matches his career .915 save percentage next season, it will be a sizable upgrade over Buffalo’s goalies last season.
However, the 32-year-old has never played in more than 40 games in a season and has never been a starter in the NHL. While Hutton’s $2.75 million cap hit could prove to be a bargain, signing Hutton is still a large gamble. The success of backups becoming starters is mixed.
Several goalies have gone from backup to starter elsewhere to different levels of success. Miikka Kiprusoff went from backup in San Jose to potential Hall of Famer in Calgary. In more recent seasons, Cam Talbot and Martin Jones have gone from backup to starter elsewhere. While Jones has found success as a starter, Talbot has had mixed results. The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Scott Darling last season from Chicago. Darling was awful in his first season.
If Hutton falters, the Sabres will turn to Linus Ullmark. Botterill gave up a sixth-round pick to protect Ullmark in the expansion draft last season, indicating that the team is high on the former sixth-round pick. Ullmark spent the majority of last season in the AHL, posting a .922 save percentage. In 26 games in the NHL over the past three season, the tall Swedish goalie has played well, recording a .917 save percentage.
With the Sabres committing only $3.5 million to Hutton and Ullmark next season, it appears Botterill believes he can get value in goal without breaking the bank on a proven starter.