See?...Starting goalie Ryan Miller has three more years on his contract. There are only two definitives right now when it comes to the on-ice Sabres: 1. Lindy Ruff "ain't goin' nowhere" 2. Ryan Miller is his #1 goalie. (Yes, Tyler Myers could be #3, but we'll save that for another time, like when he's signed to a very-long-term, lucrative contract.)
A two-year deal should give him ample time to prove himself as a legitimate NHL-calibre goalie with #1 potential. A four-year deal would give him more time and could be looked upon as an eventual replacement for Miller should the latter end up not re-signing with the Sabres. A three-year deal is pretty much out of the question. Why would the Sabres want both goalies to hit UFA status at the same time?
The Terry Pegula edict, "I wanna keep not only statistically good players, but winners, gritty players," definitely applies in the case of Enroth. See following video:
Back at the trade deadline in 2006, the Sabres has a three-headed monster in goal--Miller, Martin Biron and Mika Noronen. Of the three Noronen, who was the first pick (#21 overall, 1997) of GM Darcy Regier and the only Dudley "Red" Garrett Award winner for AHL Rookie of the Year before Nate Gerbe in 2009, was the odd man out.
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| Jhonas Enroth, "This is my mask, sometimes I'll even take it off during a game!" |
From there, the slow process from prospect to the NHL began. While Eroth was developing overseas in the Swedish Elite League and then with the Portland Pirates, the following is a quick overview of the Sabres back-up goaltending debacle:
- In 2007 Martin Biron is a cap-casualty and heads to Philly in a trade. He's replaced by Ty Conklin.
- Conklin is replaced by Jocelyn Thibault in the 2007 off-season.
- Thibault is run out of town in the 2008 off-season and replaced by Patrick Lalime who signs a two-year contract.
- During the 2008/09 season Miller is injured and Mikael Tellqvist is brought on board to back up back-up Lalime. He records a 2-1-0 record with a 2.35 gaa and a .928 sv. %.
- Tellqvist is allowed to walk (ending up overseas) and Lalime resumes his back-up role.
- Despite his poor stat-line, Lalime is mentioned by Miller as the latter accepts his Vezina Trophy for the 2009/10 season. As incredulous as it was to the fan-base, Lalime is re-signed for another year.
- Lalime gets his first start of the 2010/11 season on October 16th and proceeds to give up four goals on 21 shots in the loss.
- Ryan Miller goes down to injury and Lalime is called into duty on Oct. 30th. He proceeds to give up four goals on 41 shots in the loss.
Ruff pulls a surprise move by starting the kid against the Boston Bruins on Nov 3rd. In an inauspicious start, Enroth was pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots.
In a "lesser of two evils decision," Ruff starts Lalime again on Nov. 5th and proceeds to give up three goals on 32 shots in the loss.
By now you may be bored, ticked off or basically looking at the knot on your forehead, you know, the one caused by constantly beating your head against the wall in disbelief.
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| 5'10" 165 lb. goalie Jhonas Enroth shows his form. |
But, this is where it begins to get good.
At this point the Sabres are 3-9-2 on the season and at the bottom of the standings. They are winless in their last five starts (0-4-1) and have yet to win at home (0-6-1.)
Off to Toronto they go and Enroth gets the call. He makes 23 saves in regulation and overtime and stops four of five in the shootout win for the Sabres.
Next the team heads to New Jersey. Although he allows four goals against, the team bails him out with four of their own and the two teams eventually settle the game via the shootout. Enroth prevails once again.
Next up, the second-half of a back-to-back in Madison Square Garden vs. the Rangers.
Enroth gets the call again. The teams head to the shootout, again. And, you guessed it, Enroth prevails yet again.
He is the only goalie in the shootout era to win his first three games via the skills competition.
Enroth heads back to Portland with the return of Miller but is called up to start vs. Pittsburgh and loses 1-0.
At this point he's 2-2-1 and has solidified himself as Ruff's go-to back-up goalie in a scenario that had him continue to work in Portland during Miller's starts then hopping on a plane to start a game when Miller needed a break.
When asked by WGR's Paul Hamilton about preparing for an opponent on such short notice, Enroth said that he didn't watch tapes, he winged it.
That loss vs. Pittsburgh would be his only regulation loss the rest of the season. He finishes the season 9-2-2 and definitively helps the Sabres stage a somewhat miraculous playoff push into the 7th-seed in the Eastern Conference.
It will be difficult for Enroth to reproduce what he accomplished last season, but if he can pull off 10-12 wins in 15-20 games for the team, he'll be doing exactly what's needed.
Like allowing for the knot on my forehead to heal.
The Pegula Rewards Program buffalosabresnow list:
GM, Darcy Regier--No
Head Coach Lindy Ruff--Yes
Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine--Yes
UFA Players:
Tim Connolly--No Steve Montador--No
Mike Grier--Yes, in a front office role
Rob Niedermayer--Yes, if the Sabres are contenders
Cody McCormick--Yes
Matt Ellis--Yes, in two-way contract
Patrick Lalime--No
Mark Mancari--No
RFA Players:
Drew Stafford--Yes
Andrej Sekera--No
Mike Weber--Yes
Marc-Andre Gragnani--Yes
Chris Butler--Yes
Jhonas Enroth--Yes
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