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This Is Business

May 23, 2022, 8:46 PM ET [1369 Comments]
Hank Balling
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
“Tom, this is business, and this man is taking it very, very personal.”

Sonny Corleone (James Caan) delivered that line toward Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film The Godfather. Sonny’s remark is a response to his brother Michael’s proposal to take care of a problem they had with a powerful figure. Sonny’s comment is ironic, of course, because he could never control his temper and he repeatedly took things personally; it was a fatal flaw that would ultimately lead to his demise.

(Does that need a spoiler warning? It’s been 50 years since the movie came out, so I think we’re good.)

James Caan delivers the line perfectly with a mix of sarcasm and love for his brother who has yet to fully immerse himself in the family business. It’s also a quote that has been floating around in my mind when listening to Buffalo Sabres General Manger Kevyn Adams talk about only wanting “people who want to be here.”

And that brings us to Malcolm Subban.

By all accounts, Malcolm Subban seems like a world-class, super fun, terrific guy. He sang the national anthem for the Sabres during their last game this season, he was at game one of the Rochester American’s playoff series against the Belleville Senators, and he also made an appearance at the (NLL) Buffalo Bandits game against the Toronto Rock over the weekend.

He is a classic example of a person who wants to be here. Unfortunately, he has also proven to not be a very good goaltender at the National Hockey League level.

Over parts of seven seasons, he’s compiled an .897 save percentage with a 3.10 goals against average and a 36-33-9 record over those contests. He played only four games with the Sabres this season before getting injured, but in that time, he went 0-2-1 with an .871 save percentage and a 4.85 GAA. That simply isn’t good enough for the Sabres at this point in time.

While Sabres management is conceivably considering the possibility of returning Subban to the fold, they also seem dead set on giving former second-round pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen a slot on the roster next year, despite his lengthy injury history that has limited him to only 60 games in the American Hockey League and 13 games at the NHL level to this point.

Luukkonen is currently hurt again and is not playing in Rochester’s third-round series against Laval in the AHL playoffs. The idea of presenting Luukkonen a guaranteed spot on next year’s roster seems like a mistake in its own right, but as that decision is all but a fait accompli at this point, there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. Luukkonen is a lock and the Sabres have only one spot in net to fill.

Craig Anderson filled the veteran role for the Sabres this season and was chosen in part because he could be a mentor to UPL. That didn’t happen to start the season because UPL had an abysmal training camp and preseason and was thus relegated to the minors. UPL did end up coming back to the NHL after a run of injuries and he posted a very competent .917 save percentage in 9 games this season before (spoiler) he got hurt yet again. The Sabres could still elect to bring back soon-to-be 41-year-old goaltender Craig Anderson for another go around, even though he too was injured for a large swath of games this year and should not be counted on for more than 20 games due to his age.

All of this brings us back to Malcolm Subban.

Subban sure seems to embody all of the characteristics that Adams covets from a personality standpoint. He’s great in the locker room and he’s seemingly excited to be here. The problem is that his track record suggests he’s not good enough to be either a starting goalie or a backup goalie in the NHL. That’s the tough reality. Adams needs to understand that his job isn’t to build the greatest locker room filled with the best guys who all want to play for the Buffalo Sabres; his job is to build a team that can win the Stanley Cup.

Kevyn Adams – if he is to be believed – seems to value locker room fit and culture buy-in over game-changing skill. He has seemingly proven that to be the case by shipping out high-end talent like Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart who were sick and tired of the constant losing they endured. That could prove to be his fatal flaw as a general manager if he is unwilling or unable to secure the services of a starting-level goaltender. Fans were willing to see incremental progress this season, even while the goaltending was routinely abysmal as Aaron Dell tended net and fellow good-guy Dustin Tokarski took reps behind him. The vibe of the team was more important than the results.

That likely won’t be the case next year as fans will want to see the team that was on a 100+ point-pace to end the season rather than the one that was out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving, and quite frankly, that won’t be realized with a tandem of Malcolm Subban and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Good vibes and a likable team aren’t the goal. The goal is winning the Stanley Cup.

This is business.
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