Two in the Box

There isn’t one cause for the Sabres’ failure to break their playoff drought this year. Buffalo’s special teams weren’t nearly good enough, the team failed to spend to the cap once again and goaltending didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. 

You can find several more areas that fell short for the Sabres this year, but the problems between the pipes are going to get plenty of attention this coming offseason. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s play regressed significantly this season, his goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 dropped from 10.8 last season to -3 this year per MoneyPuck. Hockey Reference clocks his GSAA at 10.1 last season and -17.6 this year. His counting stats also took a noticeable dive, going from a .910 SV% in 2023-24 to .888 this season. Luukkonen has been more erratic and leaky this year, showing many of the struggles which defined his early NHL play as opposed to the more controlled, commanding performance he enjoyed last season. 

James Reimer’s opportunities have been fairly limited until a recent string of starts. While his play has been steady in a backup role, his long-term outlook is limited at 37 years old. Whether Lindy Ruff lacked trust in Reimer, had too much faith in Luukkonen or he simply didn’t operate with a good rotation, it’s telling that Reimer has played as many games this month (five) as he did between December 21 and the end of February. Reimer was a far better insurance policy for the Sabres than they’ve had in recent years and he’s been a steady option (despite his lack of playing time) after Devon Levi proved he needed more AHL seasoning. However, Reimer’s has only played 17 games this year and would need to play the majority of this stretch run to get to 25. At his age, he’s not the sort of backup who could be relied on for over 30 starts, which is what the Sabres will need for 2025-26. 

Devon Levi shouldn’t be seen as the default answer, either. He’s been unable to handle an NHL workload the last two years and the Sabres have hamstrung themselves each fall waiting to see how he’s progressed. In addition, limiting Levi to a 30-to-35 game workload would not be beneficial to his overarching development. The Sabres shouldn’t feel any rush to get Levi into the NHL, especially after giving Luukkonen a five-year deal. Instead, they should allow him to serve as Rochester’s starter again next year, with an eye on playing NHL games if the schedule allows for it. Levi will be just shy of 70 AHL games at the end of this regular season. Comparatively, Dustin Wolf played 141 AHL games before taking a full time NHL job and Lukas Dostal played 98 (plus 92 pro games in Europe post-draft). One more full AHL season for Levi would put him somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 AHL games played, which is a very healthy amount for a developing goalie. It would set him up for an NHL return in 2026 when there are only three years remaining on Luukkonen’s deal. 

Buffalo will need a reliable backup in the interim. Hopefully Luukkonen continues to follow a similar path as Filip Gustavsson, who also struggled the year after getting a pay raise (something I’ve referenced previously). Gustavsson returned to form this year and positive regression from Luukkonen would mean he’d be a reliable starting option for the Sabres once again. Pairing him with a quality backup who would not only push for playing time, but could be relied upon for 30-plus starts, which would help alleviate Luukkonen’s workload. 

Unfortunately, the free agent market is quite thin this year. There are a few names worth considering – most notably Jake Allen and Alex Lyon – but it’s not an overly inspiring class. That could lead the Sabres to the trade market, where there would be a few curious avenues to pursue, though landing a free agent veteran on a short deal would be the ideal result as it wouldn’t create any future issues for Levi’s eventual graduation. Below are some of the most notable names the Sabres could pursue via free agency or trade. This is not an exhaustive list of available free agents, primarily because the class is so thin on talent. Similarly, the trade candidates offer a selection of players who could be targeted, though it is not a guarantee that any would be available. 

Jake Allen

Far and away the most attractive UFA on the market this year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him return to New Jersey to tandem with Jacob Markstrom once again. Allen has been a strong backup for the Devils this year and even performed well for Montreal in the depths of their rebuild process. He’s well tuned to give a team a healthy number of starts and isn’t a one year wonder backup like Carter Hutton or Eric Comrie was as a UFA target for the Sabres. He’ll be 35 next year, so he’s an ideal target for a one year contract as well. The Sabres have the cap space to offer him double what he’s earning with the Devils if they felt strongly enough about him as a target. 

Alex Lyon

Lyon hasn’t been quite as impressive this year as he was last year with Detroit or the year prior with Florida. However, he just fell below a .900 SV% on the year after a couple of tough outings this month. His body of work isn’t extensive, so you’d be forgiven for questioning just how substantial of an upgrade he’d be. Did he turn a corner that year in Florida or is he closer to the part time NHL goalie he was the prior four years? At this point, I think his body of work is strong enough to put faith in him as a backup. He had to deal with a three-goalie rotation at times this year and has still carved out 27 appearances and is at 1.8 GSAA according to MoneyPuck. With both Petr Mrazek and Cam Talbot under contract next year, it doesn’t seem likely Lyon will be retained, making him a prime UFA target. Like Allen, the Sabres could offer him a substantial raise over the $900K he’s making this year and provide Luukkonen with a reliable partner for next season. 

Frederik Andersen

Andersen has had a quality career but has been plagued by injury in recent years. He’s also been playing behind one of the league’s best shot suppressing teams in Carolina. He’d see a different body of work here in Buffalo and his injury history is a major red flag. He hasn’t played more than 20 games in each of the last two years, meaning he’d be a sizable gamble for the Sabres as a free agent. 

David Rittich 

It hasn’t been a great season for the Kings and Rittich’s numbers were far more impressive last year compared to this year. MoneyPuck tracks him close to neutral for GSAA but he’s down 30 points in save percentage year over year. My worry on Rittich would be if he’s a system dependent goaltender who could be exposed if he faces too many high danger chances. However, his entire body of work is adequate for Buffalo’s needs. He’s shaped himself into a backup capable of taking 25-35 starts and in the right situation, can produce good results. He may be the next best UFA option after Allen and Lyon. 

Dan Vladar

Vladar will hit the market this summer after three very underwhelming seasons in Calgary. He’s a below average starter at this point and would be a far sight from the sort of reliable option the Sabres should be seeking. Buyer beware. 

Brandon Bussi

Bussi is a very curious free agent. He hasn’t been able to steal an NHL job in Boston despite a decent development track after leaving Western Michigan. His counting stats for Providence have taken a step back this year but he’s certainly a goalie deserving of an NHL look. He’s too much of an unknown for the Sabres to seriously consider as he lacks the body of work Buffalo should be looking for. But a team with room on their depth chart should give him a look next season. 

Laurent Brossoit

The first trade target and perhaps the best option on the trade market based on history, availability and potential cost. Brossoit has been out all year with knee issues. He underwent surgery in August and needed a second procedure in November. He’s yet to play in 2024-25. Chicago also acquired Spencer Knight in the Seth Jones trade and still have pending RFA Arvid Soderblom as their likely backup for 25-26. Drew Commesso is also waiting in the wings with 71 AHL games under his belt and good results in Rockford. Brossoit, who has one year at $3.3m on his deal, will be expendable this summer. The one issue, other than the lingering knee injury, is that his best play has come in Winnipeg. This could be a similar situation to Eric Comrie’s time with the Sabres, where his play in Winnipeg didn’t translate to Buffalo. But Brossoit has posted a positive GSAA and a SV% over .915 in three of his last four years, making him a good target for the summer. 

Soderblom could also be available if Chicago prefers Brossoit or wants to promote Commesso. But he doesn’t have the body of work at the NHL level to inspire the sort of confidence the Sabres should be chasing, but I would keep any eye out for his name as a trade or free agent target if Chicago opts not to qualify him. 

Daniil Tarasov

This is dependent on Jet Greaves. If the Blue Jackets want him up with the big club, they may need to make Tarasov expendable to make room. I wouldn’t want to see the Sabres pursue Tarasov. He’s gigantic but extremely inconsistent. He doesn’t strike me as a goalie who could give you 30 reliable starts. 

Philipp Grubauer

Grubauer went unclaimed on waivers earlier this year and with two more years on his contract, I doubt any team would have serious interest in him. He has struggled in Seattle, making him that much more of a questionable target for any team seeking a backup goalie, but I do expect the Kraken to shop him hard this summer.