WKBW Sports

Sabres Sign Lalime

By WKBW Sports

Sabres Sign Lalime

July 9, 2010 Updated Jul 8, 2010 at 2:36 PM EST

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Once the Buffalo Sabres assured Patrick
Lalime he'd get his fair share of playing time behind starter Ryan
Miller, the free-agent goaltender couldn't wait to sign with the
team on Tuesday.
"That was the one thing we had in conversation, and I was happy
to hear that I'll get some games in, too," Lalime said by
telephone from his home in Quebec, shortly after signing a
two-year, $2 million contract with Buffalo on the first day of NHL
free agency. "Of course I know what I'm getting myself into. And I
just want to help the team to contribute."
If that means being a backup, that's OK with Lalime, who spent
the past two years in Chicago playing behind Nikolai Khabibulin.
"I know Ryan's a very good goaltender. And I'm really looking
forward to working with him," said Lalime, who is best known for
his four-year stint as the Ottawa Senators' starter earlier this
decade.
The Sabres entered free agency seeking a proven goaltender
capable of taking the load off Miller, and after the team decided
not to re-sign backup Jocelyn Thibault. Both Sabres management and
Miller acknowledged he was overworked after appearing in a
franchise single-season record 76 games last season.
General manager Darcy Regier is confident the Sabres found the
right fit in Lalime, a nine-year NHL veteran, who proved last year
he's capable of being a solid backup.
"Everywhere we went to try to get some insight into not only
him and his game, but him as a person, was extremely positive,"
Regier said. "This move was important so that we could have a
backup that would be able to give Ryan the necessary relief."
Lalime, who turns 34 on Monday, went 16-12-2 with a 2.82
goals-against average and one shutout in 32 appearances last
season. He enjoyed a particularly strong second-half run when
Khabibulin struggled.
Lalime went 13-7-1 over the final three months to keep the
Blackhawks in playoff contention. Chicago finished in a tie for
ninth with Edmonton, three points out of playoff contention.
The performance provided Lalime a boost in confidence after
injuries limited his playing time since Ottawa traded him to St.
Louis in 2005.
"Yeah, there have been ups and downs. But it's great the way
things went in Chicago," Lalime said. "I'm really happy about
being healthy. And as you get older, you mature, you know a little
bit more about the game, the way you handle situations. I'm looking
forward to help the Sabres win."
Pittsburgh's sixth-round pick in the 1993 draft, Lalime played
one season with the Penguins, 1996-97, when he went 14-0-2 to set
the NHL record for longest unbeaten streak by a goalie to start his
career.
The Penguins, however, traded him to Anaheim in 1998, and Lalime
was then traded to Ottawa, where he finally landed a starting job
in 2000-01, his second season with the Senators.
He enjoyed his best season in 2002-03 by going 39-20-7 in 67
regular-season games, and posted an 11-7 record in the playoffs in
helping the Senators reach the Eastern Conference finals.
Overall, Lalime has a 191-148-32-11 record with a 2.53
goals-against average and 35 shutouts.

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