Two in the Box

Of the number of things that need to go right for the Sabres to break their playoff drought this season, goaltending is the most vital. 

So, when Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was held out of the start of camp and then left his lone preseason appearance with an injury, you wouldn’t blame anyone for expressing their concern with the positon. 

It’s been a game of musical chairs in the crease for the Sabres this preseason. Alexandar Georgiev was signed just ahead of training camp as an insurance policy for Luukkonen only to be waived on Tuesday after the Sabres claimed Colten Ellis off waivers from the Blues. Meanwhile, Devon Levi got two brief looks before being sent to Rochester and Alex Lyon is poised to inherit the starter’s job while Luukkonen recovers. 

Swapping Ellis and Georgiev is an interesting and telling decision by the Sabres. Their acquisition of each also speaks to their commitment to Levi’s ongoing development. 

Kevyn Adams was proactive in his initial pursuit of Georgiev. With Luukkonen on the shelf to start camp, and with Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen as the only organizational options beyond Levi, Georgiev represented a high floor option to insulate Buffalo’s goaltending stable as they waited for Luukkonen to heal up. While Georgiev’s recent track record wasn’t confidence inspiring, he was one of the few goalies remaining on the market with an NHL resume. His signing at least offered some form of short-term insurance, eliminating any potential risk of a first-year pro being the next recall. 

What followed was more of the same from Georgiev. He had a few bright spots in his preseason appearances but for the most part he looked like the below replacement level goalie he’s been over the last two seasons. He saw the most preseason action of the quartet of goalies to appear for the Sabres but aside from a decent showing against a heavily spilt Columbus roster, he was shaky, posting a -3.08 GSAx. 

The chances Georgiev would rediscover the form that earned him an All Star Game nod in 2023 (or his early days in New York) were slim, but it was a worthy enough gamble for Adams to take. The goaltender market was barren at the time of his signing. The only notables who hadn’t sought opportunities in Europe were Ilya Samsonov and James Reimer. Clarity on Connor Ingram’s situation with Utah didn’t come for a few days after the Georgiev acquisition and he wasn’t traded until October 1. Still, Georgiev’s preseason play was poor enough that any hope he could serve as a viable emergency option was dashed.

Having the benefit of hindsight, it would have been preferable to sign Georgiev to a PTO knowing that the waiver wire would have likely yielded additional options as camps came to a close. The PTO would’ve left the door open for a contract had waivers not yielded a fruitful option, while letting the Sabres off the hook of an extra NHL salary (cheap as it may be). A PTO would have also eliminated any future headaches caused by juggling an extra veteran goaltender in the minors. Either way, it is a little odd that, as reported by Elliotte Friedman, the Sabres went above the NHL veteran minimum when signing Georgiev. The best case scenario would have seen Luukkonen return on schedule and not suffer any setbacks, thus allowing the Sabres to waive Georgiev and send him to Rochester. So the Sabres expected to gain some value beyond the short term need of an NHL capable partner for Lyon while Luukkonen was out. 

Adams deserves credit for remaining proactive with the position. It would have been easy to stick with their group while Luukkonen recovered. After all, the Sabres invested an NHL salary in Georgiev that won’t likely be all that easy to move. Turning to Ellis for more stability is a fascinating wrinkle in this process. 

Ellis accounted for two-thirds of the wins for AHL Springfield last year, posting a .922 save percentage that was 25 percentage points better than his goaltending partner Vadim Zherenko. Ellis was a victim of a numbers game in St. Louis. He was among a stable of prospects that included Zherenko and Joel Hofer in addition to veterans such as Charlie Lindgren who all had to share minor league starts over the last several seasons. That arrangement meant Ellis split time between the AHL and ECHL and the 2024-25 season was Ellis’ first full year as an AHL starter. All told, has 64 AHL games under his belt, four fewer than Levi. 

It is curious to see the Sabres turn to yet another goaltender as opposed to Levi. If Luukkonen was only going to miss a few weeks you would think the Sabres would have enough faith in Levi to let him ride in tandem with Lyon. Instead, Levi’s role with the Amerks has been left untouched while the team brought in two goaltenders. As important as it is to give Levi’s development time to breathe, his play in Rochester last year certainly indicated positive growth. Playing a veteran like Georgiev over him was one thing, but plugging in an unproven goaltender like Ellis is an entirely different story. 

I’m not reading too much into the decision to let Levi stick in Rochester. It’s peculiar but it also ensures Levi will be the unquestioned starter for the Amerks. No waffling with him on the NHL roster, no yo-yoing between Buffalo and Rochester, just a clear path to the 100 game plateau in the AHL. That signals a clear commitment to Levi’s development, something that had been determined on the fly over the last two years. Even without Luukkonen’s injury, putting Levi in a position to be well seasoned and ready for the NHL next year needed to be a key development priority. Reinforcing the position ensures that remains intact. 

The more fascinating juxtaposition is between Ellis and Georgiev. Georgiev had his warts but as a goalie with NHL credentials, there was an opportunity for him to be serviceable short-term cover until Luukkonen was healthy. The bet on Ellis is built on promise. That the Sabres, a team with an astonishing playoff drought, would lean on a goalie without a single NHL minute on his resume says a lot about how nervous they were at the prospect of playing Georgiev. We’ll see if Ellis can hit the ground running. He’s had four seasons of development time and his last two were impressive. If he’s effective, he’ll be a great foil to Lyon as the Sabres wait for Luukkonen to return. If things go well (sound familiar?) he may even force them into a difficult decision, knowing it could be difficult to sneak him back through waivers. 

A lot of this will be academic if Lyon isn’t up to the task. Lyon may be flying under the radar a bit given the attention given to Luukkonen and the rotating backups, but he’s done this job in the short term before. He saved the Panthers’ season three years ago and just about did the same for the Red Wings two years ago. I’m confident he’ll be the best backup we’ve seen in Buffalo in quite a few years and he should be more than capable of carrying the mail while Luukkonen is out. While there are a lot of unknowns about Ellis, I love betting on potential, even if the playoff drought is getting an application for a learner’s permit.

The Sabres can’t afford many hiccups this season and certainly not in goal. But Adams has been proactive in his work to reinforce the position as Luukkonen’s injury added a frustrating complication. Now we see whether or not Lyon and Ellis can bring the consistency needed for a hot start to the season.