Sabres Goaltender Signs Long-Term Deal

The Buffalo Sabres have their goalie of the future in place for years to come.

Mar 19, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko Pekka Luukkonen (1) skates during warm up prior to a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to a five-year deal worth $23.75 million ($4.75 million AAV), the team announced Wednesday.

This also means the Sabres will avoid arbitration this year, as they signed both Luukkonen and newly-acquired forward Beck Malenstyn over the past two days.

Luukkonen, 25, emerged as the clear No. 1 goalie in Buffalo last season, when he started 51 of 54 games he appeared in. The Finnish netminder put up very solid numbers as well, boasting a .910 save percentage and a 2.57 goals against average. He also had 27 wins and five shutouts, the most by a Sabres goalie since Ryan Miller had 31 wins and six shutouts in 2011-12.

Earlier this offseason, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams showed his confidence in the young goalie tandem of Luukkonen and 22-year-old Devon Levi, the latter of whom played 23 games in Buffalo last season.

“We really like the position we’re in with having UPL and Devon Levi as still young, developing goaltenders, guys we think are going to continue to grow and get better, that are extremely talented, hard-working, and character people,” Adams said, per the Sabres' site.

A 2017 second-round pick by Buffalo, Luukkonen has been very patient with his development. In fact, this season marked the first of his professional career where he did not spend time in the AHL and/or ECHL.

Perhaps the highlight of Luukkonen's season came on Jan. 6, when he stopped 40 of 41 shots in a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He started 36 of the Sabres' 43 games after that point and continued to put up great numbers.

Now, he'll look to carry that momentum into next season and become the goalie he and the Sabres know he can be.

“I think that was really good for me and it’s good learning for me,” Luukkonen said after the season. “I want to be a starting goalie in this league. I feel like I can be a good starting goalie in this league. Kind of going through that this year, it helped me a lot. It helped my confidence.

“I feel like physically and mentally, I was really as fresh as I can be and kind of went through it without any difficulty, so I think that gives me confidence for next year too.”

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