It's rare to see a team roll with three goaltenders for an entire season, and it looks like the Buffalo Sabres might not try to change that trend in the 2025-26 season. With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen out of the lineup with an injury in training camp, the Sabres claimed Colten Ellis on waivers from the St. Louis Blues, electing to go with a tandem of him and Alex Lyon until Luukkonen recovered.
The issue was that Ellis and Lyon performed admirably in Luukkonen's absence, leaving them reluctant to move either when their starter returned. Each goalie now played at least five games, and neither has a goals-against average below 3.00. Luukkonen has an abysmal .881 save percentage, while Lyon and Ellis have .907 and .896 marks, respectively.
Ellis' numbers took a bit of a hit in his recent six-goal outing, as before that game, he was 3-1 with a .914 save percentage. Head coach Lindy Ruff would likely take Lyon and Ellis going forward if he had to choose right now, which leaves the Sabres with an interesting decision to make regarding Luukkonen, according to Matthew Fairburn, via The Athletic.
“Ruff has mentioned the importance of goalies making timely saves. Lyon and Ellis have both done that more often than Luukkonen this season,” Fairburn stated. “Add in Luukkonen's injury troubles early in the year, and it seems Ruff has lost some faith in him.”
It's important to remember that the Sabres also have one of the more promising goaltending prospects in the league, Devon Levi, as the starter in the AHL. Buffalo will have to make a move sooner rather than later to sort out their goaltending mess, but moving Luukkonen's $4.5 million annual contract could be tougher than the Sabres' organization might like.
