Observations:

March 2014 – Matt Hackett has had a disappointing year to date in Rochester posting an uninspiring 3.07 GAA and 0.839 save percentage in 33 games. Lucky for him even with those numbers Buffalo decided to call him up on an emergency basis to help team-up with fellow prospect Nathan Lieuwen to fill the void until one of Enroth or Neuvirth return from injury. The former Wild draft pick got his first start for Buffalo since being acquired at last years deadline as the Sabres battled a fellow cellar dweller in Edmonton. In the battle of the basements Hackett was able to come away with the victory stopping 35 shots and in doing so halted a seven game skid for the Sabres. With a logjam of goaltenders in the pipeline Hackett needs to redeem himself here down the stretch to reassert his position as the goaltender in waiting for the Sabres franchise. Travis Watson

July 2013 – Matt Hackett who was acquired at the trade deadline along with Johan Larsson, a 2013 first round pick(Nikita Zadorov) and a 2014 second round pick in exchange for Jason Pominville and a 2014 fourth round pick was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract at $715,000 cap hit on July 23rd. Travis Watson

April 2013 – Hackett owners should feel a little better about their property’s hopes despite the fact they may need to wait a little longer for him to hit the ‘primetime’. Currently the move to Buffalo is for the Rochester side of the franchise which is fighting for playoff positioning. The Sabers see him as a much better insurance policy as the third stringer than David Leggio and he allows more development time for the rookie goalies in the system. As restricted free agents in the summer, it would be likely that Buffalo attempts to resign both Jhonas Enroth and Matt Hackett to backup and support Ryan Miller for the final year of his contract. That said, Miller or Enroth may also find themselves traded at the Entry Draft or maybe Miller becomes a compliance buyout. In most scenarios that could happen in Buffalo, Hackett has a much surer path to the NHL with little competition from behind like he was subjected to in Minnesota by Darcy Kuemper. Jason Banks

December 2012 – A top prospect goalie in the world, Hackett also has the advantage of being in a system where the two NHL goaltenders are injury prone, as well as in appealing contract positions. One goalie (Niklas Backstrom) has a contract that is up in a year, while the other one (Josh Harding) is up in three years at a low salary. Hackett has been nothing but impressive at the AHL level and his stints in the NHL have been equally solid. Even with a relatively slow start to the 2012-13 season with Houston, Hackett remains a strong candidate to see some NHL action (if there is a season).

Fantasy Outlook: D+

Footage: 

Hackett in an NHL shootout (he wins):

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