The Buffalo Sabres injury concerns regarding goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen forced the club to scramble to find a goalie on relatively short notice. The Sabres signing of Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year deal for $825,000 last week was due in part to head coach Lindy Ruff’s familiarity to him, as Igor Shesterkin’s backup with the NY Rangers.
"UPL is a situation right now. We don't really know where that's going to go. I'm optimistic that this is going to be like a little short term, but we still have to protect ourselves. I had Georgiev when he was young in New York. I think he's proven that he's a good quality goaltender in this league. I think he's got something to prove. I had several long conversations with him before we got into bringing him into camp and I think his head is in the right place. And I think he's a guy that we needed protection. He'll give us that."
Other Sabres Stories
Projecting Sabres Trade Cost - Lawson Crouse
Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere
The 29-year-old Bulgarian served as the backup to both Henrik Lundqvist and Shesterkin on Broadway for five seasons before being dealt to Colorado in the summer of 2022, and after posting career-high numbe, but the following season he was overworked by head coach Jared Bednar early in the season (starting 33 games in the first half), leading to plummeting numbers and a loss of confidence from the Avs organization.
"I think this is really important to have internal competition no matter what,and to protect ourselves." Adams said, "When you have a goaltender in Georgiev that's played over 300 games in this league. He's played playoff hockey, he's at a great age, he's been around the league for a while. That was there (and) that we thought could come in and provide internal competition."
Based on comments made on Wednesday, goalie Devon Levi is still in the mix for an NHL job, but Adams said that it will be up to him as to when that will be, since he can be sent to AHL Rochester without going through waivers.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo