David Rittich

Calgary Flames Sign Garret Sparks To PTO

December 28, 2020 at 7:49 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

When the ECHL’s daily transactions today listed Orlando Solar Bears goaltender Garret Sparks as being recalled by the Calgary Flames, it left many puzzled. After some digging, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was among those to clarify that Sparks has signed a PTO with the Flames and will join the team for training camp.

Sparks, 27, spent this past season with the Vegas Golden Knights and even made an appearance with the team. However, he otherwise spent the entire season in the AHL and had fewer starts and lesser numbers than starter Oscar Dansk. A former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect and occasional backup, Sparks actually has nearly 40 NHL games on his resume as well as very strong career AHL numbers. Yet, in recent years he has failed to capitalize on his NHL chances and has outgrown the prospect label, leaving few options for the unrestricted free agent this off-season. Sparks signed with Orlando earlier this month without any better opportunities at the time.

Sparks now has a second chance to get back into the NHL this season as he is set to attend camp with Calgary. The Flames are set in the NHL with big free agent addition Jacob Markstrom and incumbent David Rittich, but Sparks could still be of value in some other roles. Sparks is likely to compete with fellow veteran Louis Domingue to get the nod as the team’s taxi squad goalie this season. The new roster fixture allows a select group of players to travel and practice with the NHL roster without counting toward roster limits and with salary being treated as if they were in the minors. However, these players – and especially the No. 3 goalie – may not see much game action this season, so the slot is better used on a veteran than a prospect in need of appearances like Artyom Zagidulin or Tyler Parsons. Even if the Flames opt to go with Domingue for the taxi squad, they may still want to sign Sparks as a second AHL goalie. It is still unclear if Zagidulin will be recalled from his loan to the KHL to play in the AHL this year, but if not there will be a hole alongside Parsons for the Stockton Heat.

Calgary Flames Seeking Right Side Defenseman

October 29, 2020 at 8:24 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 14 Comments

The Calgary Flames addressed the right side of their blue line in a big way earlier this off-season, stealing free agent Chris Tanev from the rival Vancouver Canucks. Tanev is a solid two-way defenseman who has earned the respect of teammates and opponents alike over his career. He should settle in nicely as the replacement for T.J. Brodie in the top-four for Calgary, with young Rasmus Andersson beginning a new contract of his own that comes with higher expectations. Someone from the left side can slide over as well, with captain Mark Giordano, young standout Noah Hanifin, top prospect Juuso Valimaki, and recent import Nikita Nesterov under contract and restricted free agent Oliver Kylington awaiting a contract extension.

However, that apparently isn’t enough for the Flames on the right side. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that GM Brad Treliving is still actively seeking another right side defenseman, evaluating both the free agent and trade markets. Whether this is due to Tanev’s injury history or Andersson’s inexperience, it is believed that Treliving would like to add another established right-handed defenseman. However, that may be easier said than done given Calgary’s salary cap situation. The aforementioned six defensemen under contract are part of a group of CapFriendly’s current roster projection of 21 players that comes in just about $1MM under the salary cap ceiling. With Kylington in need of a new deal and one more body required to round out the roster, the Flames don’t have enough cap space as is. Adding a significant name will be difficult without moving out considerable salary.

Ironically, the remnants of the free agent market at right side defense includes a number of familiar names. First and foremost, Travis Hamonic is the exact veteran defenseman that the Flames are trying to replace. Hamonic spent the three seasons with Calgary and alongside Brodie and Andersson made for a solid starting group on the right side. While it was seemingly a done deal that Hamonic would be leaving Calgary, emphasized by his opting out of the postseason, Hamonic’s name has not made much noise this off-season and he could decide to return to the Flames for another year if there are no superior options. Of course, Hamonic will not come cheap. Michael Stone was another member of the Flames’ right side this past season (and for parts of the past four seasons) and could make the easy transition back to the team. Veteran Deryk Engelland is also still available and could return to Calgary after three years with the Vegas Golden Knights, while Dalton Prout could return as a depth option after a one-year hiatus with the San Jose Sharks. If the Flames can move some salary to add a legitimate starter, the top free agent target would be Sami Vatanen. However, more realistic free agent options for Calgary’s budget in addition to Stone, Engelland, and Prout include Jan Rutta, Korbinian Holzer, Yannick Weber, Christian Folin, and Cody Goloubef.

Of course, if the Flames need to move out salary anyhow, the trade market may make more sense than merely signing a free agent. With a number of teams still scrambling to get their rosters set for next season under the shadow of the flat salary cap, there could be plenty of willing partners who might have a right side defenseman to spare in exchange for a similarly priced forward. Backup goaltender David Rittich, whose $2.75MM cap hit reflects a greater role than he will likely play behind big free agent addition Jacob Markstrom, could also be attractive to a number of teams still seeking a reliable backup.

One way or another, don’t be surprised if the Flames are not done making moves this off-season. Between their desire to add to the right side of the blue line and their need to clear cap space in order to complete the roster, Calgary is bound to be scouring the trade and free agent markets for a while longer.

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

September 20, 2020 at 1:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While the Calgary Flames have one or two key restricted free agents to deal with, they may have quite a few questions that will need answering among their unrestricted free-agent defensemen.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Andrew Mangiapane – Throughout his career, Mangiapane has done everything right and only continues to get better. A former sixth-round pick in 2015, he worked his way into permanent role in 2018-19 and solidified himself as a top-six forward this year and it showed, posting career highs in his second full season, scoring 17 goals and 32 points. He added another three goals in 10 playoff games this year. The 24-year-old is likely to get a raise after making $800K on his now-expiring entry-level deal. He has proven his value as a key future forward on this team.

F Mark Jankowski – There was a lot of hope for Jankowski, the team’s first-round pick from 2012, but his third season in the NHL was a bit disappointing. In fact, after his rookie campaign in 2017-18 in which the 26-year-old tallied 17 goals, he has seen a continual decline, posting 15 goals in 2018-19 and followed that up with just five goals this year and has seen his playing time continue to drop as he played just 11:06 of ATOI. And at 6-foot-4 and a bottom-line player, he doesn’t play much of a physical game with just 80 recorded hits over three full seasons. However, the team has to decide whether he is worth the $1.75MM qualifying offer to retain his rights.

Other RFAs: F Justin Kirkland, D Oliver Kylington, D Andrew Nielsen, G Tyler Parsons.

10.2(c) Players: F Glenn Gawdin, G Nick Schneider (ineligible for arbitration or an offer sheet)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Travis Hamonic – The Flames gave up quite a bit to bring in the defensive-minded Hamonic back in 2017. While not particularly much of an offensive player, the 30-year-old blueliner is quite a defensive player and was second on the team in ATOI this season at 21:11. Of course, the team was without his services in the playoffs as he opted out due to COVID-19 and family concerns. His daughter has had a significant battle with a life-threatening respiratory virus in the past while Hamonic has a new baby boy as well. However, the blueliner also was dealing with an upper-body injury for a large chunk of the regular season as well. Will the team bring him back? He was quite an affordable commodity at $3.86MM for the last few years, but undoubtedly will be looking for a raise and how many years is Calgary willing to offer to someone who is already 30 years old? With a team as cash-strapped as Calgary, Hamonic may be too pricey to keep.

D Erik Gustafsson – With five unrestricted free-agent defensemen, the team is likely to have to make some tough decisions in the near future. The Flames picked up Gustafsson for just a third-round pick at the trade deadline, which looked like a steal when Hamonic opted out of the playoffs. The team was expecting to lean on the once-high scoring defenseman. Instead, Gustafsson got just third-pairing minutes and wasn’t a big contributor down the stretch, suggesting the team may move on from him. While the 28-year-old’s price tag likely has dropped since posting a 17-goal, 60-point season back in 2018-19 and then following that up with a six-goal, 29-point season this year, a reunion would seem less likely considering the team has limited means as it is.

D T.J. Brodie – A constant trade-rumor candidate last summer, Brodie has found a way to remain with the team and produce quality minutes and may be the best option for Calgary if they were able to re-sign just one starter in the offseason. While his minutes have declined significantly since 2014-15, he still can put of solid defensive numbers and potentially provide solid play for less than the cost of either Hamonic or Gustafsson. He is capable of playing either side of the ice and plays a game that might suggest he could play deeper into his career than other defensemen.

G Cam Talbot – The Calgary Flames added Talbot to their roster as a veteran backup for young David Rittich and instead, Talbot walked away with the starting job, playing in all 10 of the team’s playoff games with Rittich getting just 16:35 of ice time in the final game before they were eliminated by Dallas (he gave up three goals on six shots). Talbot, who posted solid numbers this year, with a 2.63 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 26 regular season games, put up even better numbers in those 10 playoff games, including a 2.42 GAA and a .924 save percentage. The 33-year-old UFA made it clear he is looking for a starting job, but is Calgary willing to give up on Rittich just yet? And are they willing to pay up to keep Talbot, who could have quite a few suitors after his impressive season?

Other UFAs: F Austin Czarnik, D Derek Forbort, F Byron Froese, G Jon Gillies, F Ryan Lomberg, F Alan Quine, F Tobias Rieder, F Zac Rinaldo, F Buddy Robinson, D Michael Stone, D Rinat Valiev.

Projected Cap Space

The Flames only have about $16MM in available cap space and plenty of players they need to sign, including at least one or two defensemen and a starting/tandem goaltender. That doesn’t leave much money left for the team to spend on potential free agents unless the Flames find a way to move out some salary or some key players. Of course, with several rumors spreading about the availability of Johnny Gaudreau, it could be an interesting offseason for the Calgary Flames.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Flames, Boucher, Little

April 4, 2020 at 12:28 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Some teams are using this pause in the schedule to take care of some contracts but the Flames won’t be among those. After speaking with GM Brad Treliving, TSN’s Jermain Franklin reports (video link) that Calgary won’t be making any decisions with regards on their pending unrestricted free agents (highlighted by defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic) as well as whether or not to remove the interim tag from Geoff Ward until the league presents a clear path on when and how the season will resume. At this stage, it’s hard to see a concrete timeline put in place anytime soon so this may linger for a while yet.

2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

January 23, 2020 at 8:33 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:

Fastest Skater

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Save Streak

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Accuracy Shooting

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Hardest Shot

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Shooting Stars

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)

Women’s Three-On-Three

Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull

Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein

All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.

David Rittich Added To All-Star Game

January 15, 2020 at 2:18 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

Another goaltender has been forced to pull out of the All-Star festivities planned for later this month, as Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes will not be participating due to injury. In his place, David Rittich of the Calgary Flames will join the Pacific Division squad. No word yet on who will replace Gerard Gallant as head coach of the team, who was fired earlier today.

Kuemper hasn’t played since December 19th, and his recovery is paramount to the Coyotes’ long-term success. The goaltender is out with a lower-body injury that quickly brought speculation that the All-Star game would be out of the question.

His absence however means that the Coyotes will not have a representative at the game, unless someone else is put in as a replacement over the next few days.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Backstrom, Wilson

December 2, 2019 at 3:47 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, and a familiar name is at the very top. Nathan MacKinnon finds himself awarded top honors once again after nine points in three games. The Colorado Avalanche center has been carrying the offensive weight without his usual running mates Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog as they deal with injury, but shows no sign of slowing down.

Second and third place go to a pair of goaltenders who have battled hard to stay in their respective roles. David Rittich stopped 95 of 101 shots last week to help the Calgary Flames potentially save their season, while Martin Jones is a huge reason why the San Jose Sharks are back in the playoff race at all. Both netminders have had their share of adversity over the years, but are playing inspired hockey at the moment.

It was reported recently that Nicklas Backstrom is representing himself in negotiations with the Washington Capitals, and he confirmed as much today to reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. Pell reports that Backstrom actually wanted to get an extension done with the team before the season began, but feels he “can be honest” with the organization after so many years together. The 32-year old center is in the final season of a ten-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2010 and carries a $6.7MM cap hit.
Speaking of Colorado injuries, Colin Wilson will undergo surgery on a lower-body injury and is out for a while, according to Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic. Wilson has only played nine games this season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. It’s not clear exactly how long he will be out.

2019 Arbitration Figures And Results

August 6, 2019 at 7:30 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

August 6th: All arbitration cases have now been completed. In total, six cases were decided by an arbitrator’s award this year. That number, though seemingly not many, actually presents a 50% increase over last summer and more than the past two off-seasons combined. Of those six decisions, the teams and players received the favorable decision an even three times apiece, and each award landed within $150K of the midpoint. All things considered, there were few surprises in arbitration, even though there were more awards than expected. Now the question is where the relationships between those teams and players go from here.

Originally published on July 19th: Friday marked the start of the arbitration season in the NHL, with Brock McGinn first scheduled for his hearing with the Carolina Hurricanes. The appointments will come fast and furious after that, with 23 cases left on the books. When we asked our readers how many would actually get to the hearing stage more than 36% of voters thought 3-4 was reasonable, the same number that reached last year.

We know now that at least one will, as Andrew Copp’s agent Kurt Overhardt told Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press that their camp will “look forward to” the hearing scheduled for Sunday. Copp and the Jets exchanged figures earlier today. It is important to remember that the two sides can actually work out a deal in the short period after the hearing and before the actual decision is submitted by the arbitrator. For every case except Ville Husso, who the St. Louis Blues took to arbitration, the team involved will be allowed to choose the duration of the contract awarded. They can choose either one or two years, unless the player is only one year away from unrestricted free agency, at which point only a one-year deal is available.

Here we’ll keep track of all the hearings still on the books and the figures submitted. This page will be updated as the numbers come in:

July 20:

Brock McGinn, Carolina Hurricanes – Team: $1.75MM AAV, Player: $2.7MM AAV
Settled: Two years, $2.1MM AAV

July 21:

Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets – Team: $1.5MM AAV, Player: $2.9MM AAV
Awarded: Two years, $2.28MM AAV

July 22:

MacKenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers
Settled: One year, $1.6MM AAV

Zach Aston-Reese, Pittsburgh Penguins
Settled: Two years, $1.0MM AAV

Ville Husso, St. Louis Blues (team-elected)
Settled: One year, two-way, $700K AAV

Christian Djoos, Washington Capitals – Team: $800K, Player: $1.9MM
Awarded: One year, $1.25MM AAV

July 23:

Evan Rodrigues, Buffalo Sabres – Team: $1.5MM, Player: $2.65MM
Awarded: One year, $2.0MM AAV

July 24:

Oskar Sundqvist, St. Louis Blues
Settled: Four years, $2.75MM AAV

Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
Settled: Two years, $3.0MM AAV

July 26:

Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators
Settled: Seven years, $2.86MM AAV

July 27:

Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames
Settled: Two years, $2.55MM AAV

July 28:

Mirco Mueller, New Jersey Devils
Settled: One year, $1.4MM AAV

July 29:

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Settled: Two years, $2.75MM AAV

Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers
Settled: Two years, $3.25MM AAV

August 1:

Remi Elie, Buffalo Sabres
Settled: One year, two-way $700K AAV

Chandler Stephenson, Washington Capitals
Settled: One year, $1.05MM

August 2:

Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres – Team: $800K, Player: $2.65MM
Settled: One year, $1.33MM

Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils
Settled: Three years, $3.73MM AAV

August 4:

Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres – Team: 1.95MM, Player: $4.3MM
Settled: Two years, $2.85MM AAV

Anton Forsberg, Carolina Hurricanes – Team: $700K/$70K, Player: $833K
Awarded: One year, $775K AAV

Sheldon Dries, Colorado Avalanche
Settled: One year, two-way $735K AAV

Rocco Grimaldi, Nashville Predators – Team: $700K/$70K, Player $1.275MM
Awarded: One year, $1MM

Joel Edmundson, St. Louis Blues – Team: $2.3MM, Player $4.2MM
Awarded: One year, $3.1MM

Pacific Notes: Meruelo, Frolik, Talbot

August 4, 2019 at 1:00 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Arizona Coyotes fans got good news last week when Alex Meruelo closed on his sale of the franchise and the expects to keep the franchise in Arizona. The new owner must still figure out whether the team can get a new arena and make his claim to keep the team in the state of Arizona a reality.

Arizona Sports 98.7’s Matt Layman notes five takeaways from his press conference last week, including the owner’s desire to win. However, perhaps the most interesting fact is that Meruelo is known for buying failed businesses and making them viable once again. While Arizona isn’t a failing franchise, the team has been losing money and Meruelo might be the perfect owner to take over a struggling franchise that many feel cannot survive where it is, hence the rumors that the team will eventually make its way to Houston.

At the end of the day whether you’re flipping pizzas or you’re hitting hockey pucks, it’s a business and it must be treated as one. Hockey is a sport, but it’s also a business. I’ve had a lot experience growing businesses and turning them around. For 40 years I’ve been doing this. I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve got good people that I work with that I consider to be my team and my family and that makes me who I am today.

The Calgary Flames may have $7.76MM in projected cap room still, but with Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane still unsigned, the team will be forced to offload a contract to bring both forwards, especially Tkachuk under contract. While there has been plenty of talk of Calgary trading away a defenseman such as T.J. Brodie or Travis Hamonic, The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that another option would be Michael Frolik. The middle-six forward is still just 31 and is coming off a 16-goal season, which might make him more palatable than many of the veteran free-agent options remaining on the market. Frolik has one year remaining at $4.3MM. Wilson suggests that Ottawa might make a good fit. The Senators are way under the cap, but Frolik will actually be paid just $3MM in salary despite his cap hit number, something that the budget-focused Senators love to acquire. The scribe adds the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers as alternative options for Calgary.
Sportsnet’s Luke Fox writes that Calgary Flames new goaltender Cam Talbot hopes to prove his value to his new team. Talbot, who signed on to be a veteran backup to David Rittich this summer, struggled in his final two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers before finally being traded at the trade deadline. Talbot said he hoped that a trade to Philadelphia would be the reset of his career that would allow him to bounce back. However, Talbot played just three and a half games with Philadelphia as the backup to Carter Hart and never got a chance to prove his value. Now in Calgary, Talbot said he hopes to be more than just a backup to Rittich and hopes to split time with him evenly. “[Rittich] played extremely well last year and kinda took that spot and earned his right to battle for it. I’m going in. I want to complement him,” says Talbot.

Arbitration Breakdown: Linus Ullmark

August 1, 2019 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

Salary arbitration season is underway, as hearings began on July 20th and extend through August 4th. While arbitration awards are very infrequent, with most cases settling beforehand, occasionally a binding decision is handed down by the arbitrator. What goes on behind closed doors before that point? The players, aided by their representation and the NHLPA, and their respective teams, aided by a select group of lawyers, each file at a certain salary over a one- or two-year term. The arbitrator may decide on any salary at or between those two points, based on the arguments in each sides’ written brief and oral presentation. While both sides will have themes to base their arguments on, rather than debate only the merits of the player, the bulk of the conversation in an arbitration hearing instead centers around comparable players. Each side will use a tailored group of statistical ranges, both career and platform year numbers, to show how the player compares to similar recent arbitration-eligible players. All statistics are available to use, but their persuasiveness is the key. The player side will look to show that the player is superior to a group of players at a salary lower than their filing number, while the team side will look to show that player is inferior to a group of players above their filing number. Whoever makes the most convincing argument will land the favorable decision.

The Buffalo Sabres are 50/50 on settling arbitration cases so far this summer, coming to an agreement with Remi Elie prior to a hearing, but going through the process with Evan Rodrigues. They remarkably have two cases left with just two hearing dates remaining. The first, scheduled for Friday, is with 26-year-old homegrown goaltender Linus Ullmark. Ullmark’s performance as well as his role with the team has been up and down over his career and there is no consensus as to whether he is still growing into a future starter or has settled into a backup position. That much was evident when the two sides exchanged filing numbers, as the two figures were drastically far apart. The Sabres prevailed against Rodrigues in a case that seemingly favored the player; will they do so again? Here is a closer look at the case:

The Case of Linus Ullmark

Career Statistics: 63 games played, 24 wins, .910 save percentage, 2.87 goals against average
Platform Statistics: 37 games played, 15 wins, .905 save percentage, 3.11 goals against average

Filing Numbers: Ullmark – One year, $2.65MM, Sabres – One year, $800K (midpoint: $1.725MM)

Player Side

Themes:

Starting-Caliber Goaltender: strong 2017-18 numbers in NHL and AHL; comparable numbers to starter Carter Hutton in platform season; higher quality start percentage than Hutton in platform season
Lacking Opportunity: strong numbers in 20 appearances as a rookie in 2015-16, made only six appearances over the next two seasons; Sabres were ninth-worst in shots allowed in platform season, lacked opportunity to play behind competent defense

Team Side

Themes:

Backup-Caliber Goaltender: inferior statistics to starter Hutton in platform season; SV% and GAA ranked in bottom ten among 48 goalies with at least 30 appearances in platform season; unable to earn more appearances in prior seasons
Unreliable Goaltender: cannot handle regular NHL workload, numbers in five appearances in 2017-18 far superior to numbers as primary backup in 2018-19; allowed four or more goals in 15 appearances, including seven of final twelve appearances and five times in back-to-back appearances

Potential Comparable Player:

David Rittich (2019)
Career Statistics: 67 games played, 35 wins, .909 save percentage, 2.70 goals against average
Platform Statistics: 45 games played, 27 wins, .911 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average
Salary: $2.75MM

Player’s argument: Similar career numbers; similar age, size, developmental path
Team’s counter: Rittich had substantially better numbers in the platform season; has shown steady improvement at NHL level, eventually winning starting role; Rittich has better quality start percentage, more reliable and consistent performances

Prediction

There are not many great cases for arbitration-eligible goaltenders with Ullmark’s level of NHL experience. That serves to benefit him though, as one such player is a case settled last week in Rittich. Although Rittich’s new $2.75MM salary is more than Ullmark’s side filed for, they can acknowledge Rittich’s superior play in the platform season and still argue that the career numbers are similar enough to warrant their $2.65MM ask. As for the Sabres, they can easily argue that Rittich is on a much better trajectory than Ullmark, but the player side may admit to that themselves. They’ll have to really hammer home the contrast between the two goalies if they are to use Rittich’s case to their advantage. Otherwise, Buffalo will have to dig deep to find a different case that both fits the criteria for a case that can be used in a hearing and also makes sense as a comparable player, so they can add additional points to their argument. It’s going to be tough, though. The Sabres pulled out a surprise against Rodrigues, but don’t expect them to do it again. Anticipate a potential award to land somewhere in the $2.1-2.3MM range.

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