Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reported that the Buffalo Sabres plan on holding onto starting goalkeeper Linus Ullmark. Instead of trading him today, they plan to keep him around with hopes of signing him to a new contract as he is set to become one of the top unrestricted free agent goalies this offseason. There are both pros and cons of keeping Ullmark around after the deadline.
I can confirm @john_wawrow's report that the Sabres are not trading goalie Linus Ullmark today.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) April 12, 2021
Two sides will continue to talk about a contract extension for Ullmark. And to clear up another rumor: there has been no talk at all about Ullmark testing the market first.
Pros
Let’s start by looking at the pros of keeping Ullmark in Buffalo. The most obvious one being that he is the best goalie that the Sabres have on their roster right now by a wide margin. Linus currently has the highest save percentage and the best goals allowed average on the team, and it is not even close. He has a .917 SV% and allows 2.64 goals per game. The next highest SV% is Dustin Tokarski’s with .899, and the next best goals allowed average is Carter Hutton’s with 3.47.
Another reason to hold onto him is that he is among the best goalies that will be free agents this offseason. Ullmark has the fourth-best save percentage amongst goalies that have played in at least seven games this year if you look at this list of upcoming unrestricted free agent goalies.
If you maybe want the Sabres to bring in a younger goalie this offseason, well, Ullmark still fits that criteria. He is the second youngest goalie that has played more than one game that will hit free agency. The only younger goalie that has played a substantial amount this season is Chris Driedger.
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen struggling in the AHL this season, he will most likely not be ready to take over the starting role next season. Having him back up Ullmark would not be the worst thing as he could learn a lot and get some experience at the NHL level, but he is certainly not ready to be the starter.
Cons
The biggest risk is an obvious one. It is not a guarantee that Ullmark will come back to Buffalo. It would not come as a surprise if the Sabres failed to ink Linus to a new contract to have him stay, and he gets scooped up by a better team. There will be plenty of teams ready to contend in the playoffs right away that could be willing to bring him in. And if the Sabres fail to sign him to a new contract, they will be letting him walk and get nothing in return.
If Buffalo had decided to trade Ullmark before the deadline, they would have made sure they got something for him if he intended to leave this offseason. But it seems, as of now at least, that the Sabres are very determined to keep Linus in Buffalo. Time will tell if Ullmark feels the same way.
Trying to bring Ullmark back with a multi-year deal is the best route the Sabres could go with this situation. Linus will be one of the best free-agent goalies this offseason, so if they could keep him in Buffalo at least until UPL is ready to become the starter, that would be a great move.