Sabres Rumors: 2 Goalies Staying & 2 To Be Traded

The new Buffalo Sabres' GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, is not playing around. He has already brought in new people around him, such as Mark Bergevin as the assistant GM. After these changes, the roster or even the head coach is going to see changes as well as he thinks the Sabres can make the playoffs.

Buffalo has won five games in a row, are two games over .500, and sit five points back of a playoff spot with a game in hand. It is very possible and the team has been building towards a breakthrough for a long time. Goaltending is going to have to be cleared up though.

Kekalainen doesn't like a three-goalie system, and for the most part, it never works. Only three teams have even done it this season - the Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Carolina Hurricanes. Montreal has since stopped with the demotion of Sam Montembeault, and Carolina continues to do so as their worst goalie, Frederik Andersen is in the final year, has been so good for his career, and their goalies have been known to be injury-prone, so they don't want to quickly be caught with one usable goalie if something happens.

According to Jeff Marek, "I don't think anyone would be surprised if at the end of it, the two goaltenders that we see here are Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen."

That means Alex Lyon and Devon Levi would be gone, and that makes sense. The Sabres really like Ellis, and that's why they claimed him off waivers and have ran the three-goalie system since Luukkonen returned from injury earlier in the season. Luukkonen has the largest contract and had a great season in 2023-24, earning him the deal. In that year, he showed that he can be a number one and hold the team in the race. It's been a struggle since though.

Lyon has one more year left on his contract at $1.5 million AAV and that's very marketable in a weak goalie market. He is a veteran and isn't a long-term fit, so taking advantage of the situation could be good for them this season. And with Levi, he hasn't found his footing in the NHL in multiple attempts, even though he is a solid AHL goalie, and with three goalies already in the NHL, there isn't room for him to come up this season again.

Levi also has trade value. The younger goalies appear to be taking over the league with a number stepping in and stepping up this season. The Sabres can get something back for him on the market as well since they now have Ellis, who as I mentioned, they like. This will clear a path forward for the Sabres in net.