Buffalo Sabres: Linus Ullmark still a major question mark in goal
Linus Ullmark saw his most action yet in the NHL last season, but still has some way to go to prove he’s the long-term answer in net for the Buffalo Sabres.
Last season, goaltender Linus Ullmark had his best chance yet to show the Buffalo Sabres what he was capable of. His 37 appearances represented a career-high at the NHL level.
With all the talk about Ullmark’s talent and upside, fans couldn’t wait to see what he could with more opportunities between the pipes. At one point, it looked like the move was paying off, as he went 10-4-3 in his first 18 starts of the 2018-19 campaign.
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However, as with the rest of the team in general, the 25-year-old then went into a free-fall. After his hot start, he went 5-10-2 the rest of the way, including a seven-game losing run.
At least Ullmark ended the campaign with a career-best 15 NHL wins. However, this was compromised to a certain extent by his goals against average of 3.11 and .905 save percentage.
On the one hand, you can’t put all the blame on a goaltender who had an average blue line playing in front of him. Certainly, there were nights when the Lugnvik, Sweden native almost single-handedly kept his team in games, as he recorded the first two shutouts of his NHL career during last season.
On the other hand, there were plenty of occasions when Ullmark let himself and his teammates down with his performances. This was made more frustrating by the type of mistakes which seemed to allude to a lack of preparation on his part.
With all this in mind, it’s understandable if you wish to claim the Sabres are no closer to knowing if the 2012 sixth-round draft pick is the long-term answer in net. He has the size and the talent, but does he have the work ethic and instincts to succeed consistently in the NHL?
If nothing else, at least the Swords are prepared to give Ullmark more time to prove himself. As per CBS Sports, the Sabres extended a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent last week.
At this point, the smart money will be on Carter Hutton getting the majority of starts next season. However, Hutton himself needs to recover from a disappointing campaign, made even worse by the fact it immediately followed the best of his NHL career.
If Hutton reverts to anything like his form from 2017-18, the Sabres’ chances of finally returning to the playoffs improve. But if he performs at a similar level to last season, Ullmark will be given plenty more chances to prove he can be the man in Buffalo.
Next. Time for Alexander Nylander to step up. dark
If, and when, those chances come, Ullmark must then show the experiences of last season have helped him mature into a more reliable option. If not, you can expect the Sabres to start concentrating on other possibilities to be their number one goalie of the future.
How would you rate Ullmark’s play last season? Are you convinced he can be the Buffalo Sabres’ long-term answer between the pipes? Let us know in the comments section below.