Observations:

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: A-

Hackett is ready to become a backup NHL goaltender for the 2013-14 season and could be a starter before 2016. A defensive coaching system would make him one of the better goalie owns in fantasy hockey within several years.

Footage:

Hackett in an NHL shootout (he wins):

Fantasy Prospects Report Notes (Any FPR's released in the last 18 months will not be listed here):

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Matt Hackett’s statistics courtesy of Elite Prospects

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