Sabres goalie has a 22-17-3 record in 40 starts this season
Sabres goalie has a 22-17-3 record in 40 starts this season
The Buffalo Sabres playoff chances took a severe hit with their 4-1 loss to Detroit on Saturday, but the fact that they have any postseason aspirations at all in the middle of March are due in large part to the goaltending of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Luukkonen has been the club’s primary starter since early January, and over that span has led the NHL in wins (14), goals-against average (1.96), and save percentage (.927), something that is well-timed for the 25-year-old Finn in the final year of his three-year entry-level contract.
The Sabres are not under any financial crunch with the cap going up this summer and a number of expiring contracts like Victor Olofsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost, and Eric Comrie opening up more cap space, but with promising youngster Devon Levi in the fold, the club may be hesitant to lock up Luukkonen on a long-term deal.
GM Kevyn Adams will not be under any constraints in giving Luukkonen a significant pay bump (perhaps in the $4-to-$4.5 million range) while Levi is on his ELC, but it is very possible that the Sabres will opt to go through salary arbitration this summer with two years before he is eligible for unrestricted free agency instead of signing him to a four-or-five year extension that would cost more.
After July 1, Levi, newly-acquired defenseman Bowen Byram, and forwards J-J Peterka, and Jack Quinn all can sign extensions. The Sabres have shown a tendency to be proactive in signing the players they believe are part of their future core group. The question is whether they now see Luukkonen in that way or if will they require another year of proof before they are ready to commit.
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