You gotta love the goaltender situation moving forward. I know it's early, but Enroth looks like a bonafide NHL goaltender. He was spectacular last night. If they re-sign him as a RFA to back up Miller 20 games per year (and more if Miller gets hurt), could be a nice 1-2 punch. The sticking point, though, is whether he would be as effective without as much playing time, and knowing Lindy's penchant for riding Miller hard, he might not see a lot of action.

I say re-sign him for a couple of years to back-up Miller and see where it goes. That way, we could have a very solid goaltender duo and potentially outstanding trade options in the future.

Have other teams noticed him as well to tender an offer during RFA?

I highly doubt that a team would offer sheet Enroth. Could happen, but I can't see it.

I'd expect Miller/Enroth next year with a 62/20 split. Lindy has show that he'll play his backup when he trusts him not to suck, and they're not chasing 8th.

We'll see though.

Likely will be lambasted for this, but I say start Enroth tomorrow against Pitt. Kid has been hot for Buffalo, and Pens have had Miller's number. I think an extra day's rest could reap rewards for Miller.

Miller is your #1 goalie. He starts.

Sidney Crosby has had Miller's number. Now they're without Crosby and Malkin. I say give the number one goalie his start.

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mechaphil

Just thinking outside the box a little, given how the Pens have lit up Miller past couple of seasons and how the extra rest could help him down the stretch.

The Pens have lit up a lot of goalies the last couple seasons. They're a good team.

They're much better with the additions of Crosby and Malkin. Since those two have gone down with injuries, scoring hasn't been as frequent for them.


I believe the majority of their season now relies on how far Fluery can take them.

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"Love, love will tear us apart again"- Ian Curtis

Remember how bad we used to smoke the Pens in 05-06 and 06-07?

Lets get back to doing that tomorrow.

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Wheelhouse

As long as we don't play the game like we did the last time against the Pens, jump to a 2-0 lead and lose 3-2.

Beat the shit out of them.

But Miller starts.

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its a good situation to have. i feel enroth is NHL ready, and i expect him to up next year. i wonder who will start next year for the pirates..

im also excited to see enroths NHL pads. hopefully they are better then his AHL pads. haha.

his mask is bitchin though.

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I fully expected to come in here and scream at you Mike, haha, but yeah I agree, Enroth looks NHL ready, and could probably handle 30+ games next year. He wont get 30+ games, but could handle them if need be.

I really have liked how much he's improved his legs since his first training camp. He kicks pucks away from the middle, and makes amazing saves while moving down in butterfly. His blocker side is still a mess, but he's only going to improve that part of his game.

I can't wait to have him as our full time back up. He'll be making a challenge for that starting spot in 3 seasons or less. He's improving that fast.

I love his mask as well, but I agree, those black and red pads are just awful. Even if they were blue and gold they'd look awful.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

im not sold on enroth being the sabres long term answer to miller, but im starting to trust him in net. if he works on his lateral movement, ill really be happy. as it is now, hes a good goalie and im anxious to see him in 20 games next year.

as for his pads, im a big fan of the white pads with coloured graphics. im not a big fan of his RBK revokes though. maybe hell get on the vaughn train next year

at any rate, every start he makes, i see more and more positives. i remember watching his AHL games last year and thinking "this is what everyone thinks is gonna be the next sabre all star goaltender????" but hes grown, and hes looking good. and im excited.

still, draft a goalie this draft. and kinda high. i want that goalie surplus the sabres always had in the early to mid 00s.

the blocker side will improve, but i feel thats the hardest thing outside lateral movement to improve. the blocker is bulky and awkward and you toss in a stick... you pick your spot right on the blocker side, its a goal. i just hope he doesnt start to cheat if it becomes a problem.

im confident he will grow in the AHL playoffs and continue into next camp. hes going to fine. all star? maybe not. a solid goaltender? hes already there. good things a coming.

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What do you think the Sabres would offer him? 1 - 1.2M/year to be a 20 game/year guy? Hard to argue he's not worth that for a couple of years.

Ummmmm, no. He'll get a minimum contract probably. 7 games in the NHL does not equal a 1 or 1.2 million dollar contract.

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He's still playing off his entry contract, and is restricted coming up. He'll be qualified with the standard 5% raise, taking him to about $725k NHL , and bumping his AHL salary to around $100k. They'll tell him in advance that he'll be the full time NHL backup, and he's snap up that contract in about 2 seconds. (He's only making $62,500 right now in Portland.)

He will not be getting anything close to a $1M deal.

You're wrong Tom, he's a Sabre player so have to overpay him to stay here. Because everything thinks a player should get overpaid to be in Buffalo and never look to see comparable numbers or previous years and how many games they've played before.

Oh Tom, it's a 10% raise under 750K on the RFA contracts and 5% over that number, so he'll get a bit more. I did the math when someone mentioned Enroth's contract next year and QO's.

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The way I see it, the difference between 725K/year and 1M/year is peanuts in big sports, with deep-pocket owners. So why wouldn't some team with goaltending woes take a look at him for close to 1M/year? Not like it would be a monumental risk at that salary for a couple of years. I wouldn't be shocked to see him get a minimum QO from Buffalo, then wait it out for a couple of weeks to see if anyone else tenders a better offer, especially if his stock rises throughout the rest of this season. What would there be for him to lose by waiting the 2 weeks for other offers to come in, before signing the QO?

I think you're missing the point.

Is the jump from $735K to $1M peanuts? Yes, it is. In fact, if Enroth were to sign an offer sheet for $1M, I'm sure the Sabres would match it to keep him.

However, think back over the last few years. There have been VERY few offer sheets signed by restricted free agents. Obviously Vanek's, but past that, not many at all. The offer sheet is not commonly used.

A guy like Stafford having a career year is more likely to get an sheet than an AHL goaltender with a few good spot starts.

The question I was raising was whether he was worth 1M+/year. Yes, he is. But, your point taken - why offer him that if he can be had for less.