Camp Countdown | How will the goalie competition play out?

In the days leading into training camp, Sabres.com will be addressing major questions surrounding the 2025-26 Buffalo Sabres. Up next: What will the goaltending look like?

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For the Buffalo Sabres, taking a step forward from last season’s 36-win, 79-point performance will require improved goaltending.

Starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and veteran backup James Reimer both had strong stretches, and Devon Levi continued to flash his potential with an All-Star showing in the AHL, but the trio’s combined .888 save percentage didn’t cut it for the Sabres.

Now, 32-year-old Alex Lyon enters the mix in Reimer’s place. Signed July 1 to a two-year contract, Lyon made 74 appearances (69 starts) between the last two seasons with Detroit, going 35-27-6 with a 2.96 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. And with Luukkonen currently day to day with a lower-body injury, the Sabres signed 29-year-old Alexandar Georgiev last week as additional insurance.

Here’s a key question about each of Buffalo’s four netminders to enter the season.

Can Luukkonen return to his 2023-24 form?

At the end of this past season, which saw Luukkonen go 24-24-5 with a 3.20 GAA and .887 save percentage in 55 games, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff offered a vote of confidence in his starter, who’s signed through 2028-29.

“I believe in UPL,” Ruff said. “Until I get the team to clean up some of the poor puck play, it’s going to be hard on any goalie.”

Ruff’s statement passed the eye test; too often, defensive breakdowns left Luukkonen scrambling and led to goals against.

But the numbers suggest the Sabres allowed a similar volume of offensive chances last season as in 2023-24, when Luukkonen posted a superior 2.57 GAA and .910 save percentage in 54 appearances. Luukkonen proved that season that when defensive breakdowns do happen, he has the ability to bail his team out.

“I don’t want to hide behind the fact that, as a team, the game hasn’t been where we want it to,” Luukkonen said after his final appearance of the 2024-25 season. “I’ve got to be better, too, and I feel like that’s what helps me through those moments, is to just focus on my own game. Knowing that I have to be better, rather than just finding the excuse somewhere else. We’re not gonna play perfect every night, so it’s easier to just focus on your own stuff, and during those stretches, I’ve got to be better.”

Luukkonen is expected to miss the first training camp practices with his lower-body injury, which emerged during late-offseason training, but according to general manager Kevyn Adams on Wednesday, "there's no alarms right now saying that it's a significant injury."

• Injuries and transactions | Luukkonen's full injury report

How often will Lyon play?

Fatigue may have factored into Luukkonen’s performance last season. He played 50 of the Sabres’ first 66 games, and his 55 total appearances were the most by a Buffalo goalie since Robin Lehner’s 59 in 2016-17. Reimer made 19 starts, but 11 of those were clumped into the final month of the schedule.

The goaltending tandem should reach greater heights if Lyon can fill in more frequently – and more successfully – throughout the season than did Reimer, his former Red Wings teammate. Lyon signed in Buffalo with that in mind.

“My aspiration is always to play as many games as possible and win as many games as possible,” he said. “I think that’s a good mentality to have. You have to be ultra-competitive in the goalie room but also extremely supportive at the same time. It’s a really fine balance to strike, but I think that’s a strength, for sure, that I have.”

• Lyon on opportunity in Buffalo: 'I'm going to be the best version of myself'

Reimer’s late-season roll, which included the longest winning streak by a Sabres goalie (seven games) since 2019, made one thing clear: Ruff will ride the hot hand in net. So, the door appears open for Lyon to earn his share of playing time.

Is Levi ready to make the jump?

Levi has established himself as a great AHL goalie; in 68 games between the last two regular seasons with Rochester, he’s recorded 41 wins, a 2.28 GAA and .922 save percentage. His 2024-25 campaign included a league-leading seven shutouts, plus two more in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Now, is the 23-year-old ready to become a reliable NHL option? He didn’t reach that level in 2024-25, going 2-7-0 with a 4.12 GAA and .872 save percentage across a few stints with the Sabres, but team staffers have expressed confidence that Levi made significant strides in his development with the Amerks last season.

“In my opinion, this year versus last year, throughout the regular season, he was more consistent at the (AHL) level,” Sabres goaltending development coach Seamus Kotyk said in July. “And more subtle things you don’t see when you come to the rink, the maturing into the pro every day. The day-to-day, the habits, the lifestyle, that’s where I saw a lot of growth.”

General manager Kevyn Adams has said he’d be comfortable beginning the season with Levi on the NHL roster. Still, if the Luukkonen-Lyon duo performs well, it will afford Levi additional time in Rochester to continue that growth.

“Getting a little more (minor league) reps under your belt, I think, can help with your consistency down the road, when that consistency is really needed in your game,” Kotyk said. “And the Sabres, we’ve got to have goaltending that is there every night for us.”

• From May: Amerks aiming high with Levi in net

If there’s one certainty, it’s that Levi, a fierce competitor nicknamed “Beast,” will battle for a roster spot in training camp and make the decision tough on Buffalo’s coaching staff.

“I’m excited for next year; I feel like I’m ready to play in the NHL,” Levi said after the Amerks’ playoff run. “Whatever happens, happens. It takes time as a goalie. … All I can focus on is being the best version of myself every single day, and I know that I’m gonna end up where I want to be eventually.”

Will Georgiev get a chance in Buffalo?

At some point this season, whether in October or later, the Sabres will surely need a goalie beyond Luukkonen and Lyon. Would Georgiev get that call before Levi?

The eight-year veteran led the NHL in wins as recently as 2023-24 with Colorado. Last season, however, he posted a 3.71 goals-against average and .875 save percentage in 49 games between the Avalanche and Sharks. Adams said he signed Georgiev to “provide internal competition,” citing goalies’ year-to-year volatility as a reason for optimism.

“I think he's got something to prove,” said Ruff, who coached Georgiev as an assistant with the Rangers. “I had several long conversations with him before we got into bringing him into camp. I think his head is in the right place, and I think he's a guy that we needed (for) protection, and he'll give us that.”

The one-year contract comes with minimal risk at just $825,000, so if Georgiev never gets an opportunity in Buffalo, he’d presumably just serve as an experienced backup for Levi in Rochester while prospects Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen play in the ECHL.