So You Can Carry 3 Goalies

[smilinjoefission]

So the Sabre knowing they can't send anyone down, is carrying/playing three goalies and are happy to do so...meanwhile the guy the Blues got to replace Ellis is 0-3 with a GAA over 4.00 in the AHL.

[Old_Goat]

So the Sabre knowing they can't send anyone down, is carrying/playing three goalies and are happy to do so...meanwhile the guy the Blues got to replace Ellis is 0-3 with a GAA over 4.00 in the AHL.

Probably should have waived Texier? And if they needed injury replacement(s) at forward, they could have called up somebody who probably would be just as useful as he for a lot less money...leaving room for Ellis.
But did anything in preseason really indicate the magnitude of this current situation?
And other than Game 1, is it necessarily reflective of Binnington?

[DawgDad]

So the Sabre knowing they can't send anyone down, is carrying/playing three goalies and are happy to do so...meanwhile the guy the Blues got to replace Ellis is 0-3 with a GAA over 4.00 in the AHL.

Probably should have waived Texier? And if they needed injury replacement(s) at forward, they could have called up somebody who probably would be just as useful as he for a lot less money...leaving room for Ellis.
But did anything in preseason really indicate the magnitude of this current situation?
And other than Game 1, is it necessarily reflective of Binnington?

The Hofer thing had to be a shock.

[swatski]

Guys, Hofer was pretty good last year. No way to expect what we’ve seen from him so far this year.

[Old_Goat]

Guys, Hofer was pretty good last year. No way to expect what we’ve seen from him so far this year.

That is correct.

[MiamiLaw]

Guys, Hofer was pretty good last year. No way to expect what we’ve seen from him so far this year.

That is correct.

Agreed. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt too that he can turn it around.

[theograce]

Guys, Hofer was pretty good last year. No way to expect what we’ve seen from him so far this year.

That is correct.

Agreed. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt too that he can turn it around.

If he doesn’t, the Blues are in some trouble. Armstrong’s history of goaltenders outside of a fluke has been beyond bad

[bluetunehead]

Hofer has 70 Games of NHL experience with perfectly decent numbers that say he belongs in the NHL before these last couple showings. Unless this legitimately turns into a Rick Ankiel situation then he will turn things around. It’s not like Binnington has been lights out either so far.

Re: carrying 3 goalies… Buffalo can do it for now but goalies have to play regularly to stay sharp. They won’t be doing it for long.

[BalotelliMassive]

Hofer has 70 Games of NHL experience with perfectly decent numbers that say he belongs in the NHL before these last couple showings.

Chicago will have the same situation next season and I can see them dealing Soderblom to make room for Commesso.

[STL fan in MN]

Hofer has 70 Games of NHL experience with perfectly decent numbers that say he belongs in the NHL before these last couple showings. Unless this legitimately turns into a Rick Ankiel situation then he will turn things around. It’s not like Binnington has been lights out either so far.

Re: carrying 3 goalies… Buffalo can do it for now but goalies have to play regularly to stay sharp. They won’t be doing it for long.

Exactly. And there’s only 2 nets in practice generally. Three’s a crowd. I doubt they keep 3 for more than a couple weeks. They don’t want to lose Ellis but they’ll lose one of the 3 eventually - either via waivers or trade.

[Bubble4427]

So the Sabre knowing they can't send anyone down, is carrying/playing three goalies and are happy to do so...meanwhile the guy the Blues got to replace Ellis is 0-3 with a GAA over 4.00 in the AHL.

How many teams in the league are carrying 3 goalies? Hardly any.
Must be because it’s a stupid idea. It’s hard to keep 3 goalies sharp at the same time.

[Plagers4Ever]

Guys, Hofer was pretty good last year. No way to expect what we’ve seen from him so far this year.

That is correct.

Agreed. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt too that he can turn it around.

If he doesn’t, the Blues are in some trouble. Armstrong’s history of goaltenders outside of a fluke has been beyond bad

Exactly!!! His development of Binnington was terrible. Bouncing him around and around in the minors, even to OTHER NHL farm teams. Not calling Binnington up until the unavailability of all the goalies on the Blues roster for that now famous game, when Army was forced to turn to Binnington and Binnington made him look like a fool for the way he had been mishandled. That is why an asterisk needs to be placed next to Army's name when the Stanley Cup win is mentioned. Binnington forced Armstrong to start him in the following games and was obviously key to the Cup win.

[Inglewood Jack]

Hofer has 70 Games of NHL experience with perfectly decent numbers that say he belongs in the NHL before these last couple showings. Unless this legitimately turns into a Rick Ankiel situation then he will turn things around. It’s not like Binnington has been lights out either so far.

Re: carrying 3 goalies… Buffalo can do it for now but goalies have to play regularly to stay sharp. They won’t be doing it for long.

Re: Hofer. He is usually position sound, but I have been critical of his foot speed and lateral movement. Also when he plays the puck behind the net, he is slow to get back in. Then last game his glove hand was playing too low. So I am worried about his fundamentals at this point. Being large and in position will only get a goalie so far. He has got to quickly learn from his mistakes and carry a bad (bleep) attitude or he will find himself like Husso playing for the Gulls.

[TheJackBurton]

Yeah, who wouldn't want to carry a 3rd netminder at the expense of another forward or defenseman.

There's a reason it is very rarely done.

[Frank Underwood]

UPL (too long of a name to spell out) just came back and played his first game. I'm sure the Sabres want to make sure he is healthy before they make any kind of move with Ellis. Of course now Ellis is "day-to-day" with some undisclosed injury. I don't expect the Blues to get Ellis back, but Buffalo will be doing something soon with one of these guys. If Ellis gets another start and gets lit up, then maybe the Blues can get him back.

Hofer is starting tonight in Pittsburgh, so I guess we'll see what happens with that.

[STL fan in MN]

UPL (too long of a name to spell out) just came back and played his first game. I'm sure the Sabres want to make sure he is healthy before they make any kind of move with Ellis. Of course now Ellis is "day-to-day" with some undisclosed injury. I don't expect the Blues to get Ellis back, but Buffalo will be doing something soon with one of these guys. If Ellis gets another start and gets lit up, then maybe the Blues can get him back.

Hofer is starting tonight in Pittsburgh, so I guess we'll see what happens with that.

Yeah, weird set of events there. What I read is that Ellis was supposed to get his 2nd start on Saturday but woke up that morning with a very sore back so they held him out. UPL wasn’t supposed to get that start but did, losing to Toronto in OT with a .818 SV%.

They’re not expecting Ellis’ injury to be bad but that wasn’t good timing for him for a kid trying to get his foot in the door in the league. Then again, maybe a random sore back on that particular day is the butterfly effect needed for Ellis to get back to the Blues org. Who knows.

Agree with those saying Buffalo will eventually move one of the 3 one way or the other.