Buffalo Sabres give 100-game NHL veteran massive $24 million deal
Today the Buffalo Sabres have announced their latest big signing of one of the pieces of their core as they have signed Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to a long-term deal.
The Buffalo Sabres announced this afternoon that they have agreed to a new 5-year deal with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who was previously a restricted free agent.
We have agreed to terms with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on a five-year contract with an AAV of $4.75 million.
The signing comes as a bit of a surprise due to the length of the deal. Until last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was an inconsistent but promising goalie that was trending towards a high-end backup role. Then last season he exploded onto the scene and played 54 games for the Buffalo Sabres with a 2.57 goals against average and a 0.910 save percentage.
These numbers were good enough to keep the Buffalo Sabres in the playoff race for much of the season. However, the Sabres have one of the best goaltending prospects in the sport at the moment with Devon Levi. If the Sabres have plans to give him the starting role in the coming years the Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen contract could age poorly.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams is in a win now mode with new head coach Lindy Ruff. They seem to believe they have found their number one goalie of the future in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen it will be interesting to see if they are correct.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 24 | 278 ANSWERS Buffalo Sabres give 100-game NHL veteran massive $24 million deal Do you think the Buffalo Sabres will regret signing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen? | ||
| Yes | 152 | 54.7 % |
| No | 126 | 45.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Will Cuylle | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lars Eller | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Filip Forsberg | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Luke Glendening | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Thomas Harley | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Erik Haula | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Kyrou | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Niko Mikkola | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicklaus Perbix | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tyler Seguin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jamie Benn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sam Bennett | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||