Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – When there’s talk about Buffalo Sabres goalies, all you hear about is Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The only one that hasn’t forgotten about Eric Comrie is Comrie himself.
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Before he left for the offseason back in April, Comrie said he’s not intimidated by competition, and still wants to be a member of the Sabres.
"I’m real happy to be here with 'Uppie' and 'Dev'. They’re two great goaltenders, and we all push each other," said Comrie during his end-of-season meeting with the media. "Whatever is going to happen is going to happen, and I have no issues. I want to be back here.
"I had so much fun here. I love the guys and the fans here, I love the atmosphere, and this room is fantastic. The guys in this room are the best you could ever ask for. I want to play for this group of guys for as long as I possibly can."
Comrie had two injuries last season that kept him out for long stretches. Overall, he was 9-9-1 with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage. The year before with the Winnipeg Jets, Comrie was 10-5-1 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a stellar .920 save percentage.
If you look back at his games, he had four really good outings and that was pretty much it.
Comrie started the season by standing on his head on Oct. 18, making 46 saves in a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He then went back to Winnipeg on Jan. 26 and stopped 19-of-21 shots in a 3-2 win. On March 4, Comrie made 33 saves in a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, then recorded a 26-save shutout of the New York Islanders back on March 26.
The 28-year-old says he never let frustration set in during his season when things weren't going so well.
"I don’t think it was that frustrating. I had a chance at the start of the year, and getting the injury really set me back," Comrie said.
The only time the Sabres used Comrie like a starting goalie was between Oct. 15 and Nov. 16 when he played 11 out of 16 games. During that time, he was 4-7-0 with a 3.62 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage.
In his last seven games played between Jan. 26 and March 27, Comrie was 5-1-1 with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage.
"I was 5-1-1 to finish the season, so I was extremely happy with my finish, and I was extremely happy with the way I was playing," Comrie said. "You can only control what you can control, and some games didn’t always go great. But that’s life, and I’m just happy with the way I finished. I got 11 out of 14 points to finish the season, and I’m pretty proud of that."
As far as the beginning of this past season, it was Comrie’s first opportunity to play as a No. 1 goalie in the NHL.
"It was fun getting the opportunity to play those games, and it was a very good learning experience for myself," he said. "I hadn’t ever been a starting goalie in the NHL, and it was my first time playing games in-a-row for a long time."
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has mentioned a couple of times that having three goalies isn’t ideal. Last year when they carried three, Adams took turns sending Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka down to Rochester in a paper transaction.
That’s not realistic, so something is going to have to give in goal.
The way Adams talks, he’s not about to give up on the 24-year-old Luukkonen. I would think he will look to try to trade Comrie at some point before the start of the 2023-24 season.
Adams could put Comrie on waivers and try to send him to Rochester, but he’s already signed Dustin Tokarski and Devin Cooley in free agency to play for the Americans.
The Sabres will also have to try to do something with one of the nine NHL defensemen currently on the roster. That could involve a trade or waiving Jacob Bryson and sending him to the Amerks.
