Once again, there are more questions than answers in the Buffalo goal crease as the offseason approaches. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did not carry the play that earned him a five-year extension into this season. Instead, his continued regression threw another log onto the burning wreckage of this season as he’s seemingly ceded starting duties to James Reimer over the last two weeks. 

Luukkonen was one of the bright spots of the 2023-24 season and served as the unquestioned starter for the majority of this season, despite his up and down play. Only recently has Lindy Ruff changed course, starting Reimer in all but two of the last eight games. Luukkonen has only started on the front half of two back-to-back sets, taking losses on March 22 and 29 against Minnesota and Philadelphia, respectively. It’s a complete course reversal from Ruff, who played Luukkonen in eight of the first 10 games of March, only playing Reimer twice, with his starts coming 17 days apart. 

For his part, Reimer has been steady. He won’t be mistaken for a Vezina candidate any time soon, but he’s made timely saves and the results have followed. He’s won five straight and posted a 4-1-1 record to Luukkonen’s 3-7-0 mark in March (Reimer is 5-1-1 in his last seven after Tuesday’s win in Ottawa). While Reimer has had three stellar starts over this current run, Luukkonen’s play has been defined by leaky goals and poor results. In the month of March alone, he’s allowed five or more goals on four occasions while allowing two or fewer just twice. 

With the season long over, how this affects Buffalo’s approach to the offseason is a far bigger issue. And specifically how they choose to manage Devon Levi. 

Buffalo’s goaltending situation is a problem of their own making. 

Kevyn Adams was gambling when he left his goaltending stable untouched in the offseason. After 46 games, there isn’t much that’s improved. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has stabilized the position thus far, taking over the starting job with a string of quality play that dates back to the end of December. He’s currently the best chance the team has to salvage anything from this season as his current form makes him Buffalo’s best, and only reliable goaltender. A pessimist may look at his larger body of work and worry that this is just a blip, but Luukkonen has exhibited much more control over his game during this stretch, has done a better job playing bigger in his net and has held the fort even as the team in front of him continues their up-and-down season. 

Beyond Luukkonen is where things get cloudy. There have been rumors of promises made to Devon Levi in the time leading up to his signing and his seven game cameo appeared to justify the franchise’s faith in him as an NHL regular. So far, that faith hasn’t been fully rewarded.