It’s a rare time in Buffalo where it feels like a steady presence has been found in their fold. Since his debut in a Sabers uniform, even up until their most recent loss, Alex Lyon has been the steady hand between the pipes for them while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been recovering. In that time he has shown a great deal of poise, skill and finesse to truly claim the number one spot in goaltending away from Luukkonen. the trust is really visible.
In the meantime, probable starter Luukkonen had a shaky return that was reminiscent of his early years, when he succumbed to pressure and just failed to make a save when really necessary. Between his own performance and that of others who are quickly poised to pass him on the depth chart, it’s time to move on from the Finnish netminder.
Lyon and Ellis are a good tandem
As the Sabres’ starter, Lyon has amassed a 3-4-1 record, a 2.77 goals against average (GAA), a .919 save percentage (SV%), and already has one shutout on the season. That shutout came against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, and it was one of the team’s most calm and collected performances all season. His presence in goal gives the players confidence, and it shows. He makes the saves when he needs to, and he has rarely conceded a goal that would be considered ‘weak’. Watching the Sabers play for him is night and day the difference it makes, and that’s worth riding out as long as it works.
The young goalie of the Sabres exemptions collected was Colten Ellis, and his arrival in Buffalo at the start of the season marked the end of the Alexandar Georgiev preseason experiment, along with the question of whether he could handle playing in the NHL. Those questions were answered quite quickly when he played his first NHL game and recorded his first win against the Detroit Red Wings on the same night on October 22. He looked sharp on most of his plays and the nerves were shaken right out of him. The team also played a tough game for him, and although he had to hold off multiple breakaway attempts on some great Red Wings players, Ellis held his own and proved he could hold his own as a backup goalie for the time being.
Luukkonen’s struggle runs deep
Luukkonen has struggled for years to prove that he deserves to be the starting goaltender in Buffalo, and unfortunately, it has proven once again that he is not the clear choice. Time and time again, he tries to prove himself with good performances, only to be overshadowed by a terrible performance from himself or a great performance from another goalie on the Sabers roster. It happened to Devon Levi, Craig Anderson and soon to James Reimer, and now it’s happening again to Lyon. His continued inability to claim the position that should be his is frustrating as a fan, and it can only get worse for him.
It’s also noticeably different watching the Sabers play for him. The team is certainly trying to win, but they are not playing with the same confidence as with Lyon between the pipes. It seems they don’t trust Luukkonen and are overcompensating for the mistakes they think he will make. His inconsistency in net, along with his classic inability to make big saves in big moments, has plagued them for a few seasons now, and it’s time to move on, both for the player’s sake and the team’s.
The Sabers goaltending future looks bright without Luukkonen
The Sabers will have to make a decision on their goaltending sooner or later. Luukkonen won’t be happy being the presumed starter and playing for Lyon or Ellis long-term, and they can’t keep all three goaltenders on their roster as a rotation. That’s just a poor use of roster space, and it doesn’t bode well for maintaining a good goaltending rotation. They should opt to move Luukkonen and keep Lyon and Ellis as it would make the most sense from a team and business perspective. Moving Luukkonen while keeping the other two gives the Sabers a little more flexibility by moving his $4.75 million average annual value (AAV) while only having to endure Lyon’s $1.5 million AAV and Ellis’ $775,000 AAV through the end of the 2026-2027 season.
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Having that flexibility and timeframe gives their goalkeeper of the future, Levi, the chance to get to the crease in a reasonable amount of time without rushing it, while keeping solid goalkeepers in place for a bargain price. Would it be great to see Luukkonen bounce back and succeed in the Sabres’ crease? Yes, absolutely. It would be ideal to perform at the high level expected of him, but unfortunately he has shown time and time again that he does not perform under that pressure. He needs a fresh start elsewhere, and the Sabers need to move on to get rid of the lingering cloud hanging over them with him still on the roster.
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