Sabres News: Should UPL start next season in the NHL?

The goalkeeping position for the Buffalo Sabres was an issue last season. Buffalo had what seemed like an endless amount of injuries to their goalies that led to a handful of different starters throughout the year. The only consistency they got was from Linus Ullmark, but he missed a significant amount of games with injuries throughout the season.

Towards the end of the year, we saw the Sabres call up their top goalie prospect, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He started four games for the Sabres before suffering an injury that ended his season early. Luukkonen had a 1-3 record in those four games with a .904 save percentage and a 3.88 goals allowed average.

Although this was a very small sample size of UPL in the NHL, it is clear that he is part of the future plans for Buffalo. Whether those future plans include him taking over the starting role for the Sabres as soon as next season, or waiting a while until they think he is more prepared, is yet to be determined.

The Sabres started last season with Ullmark as the starter and Carter Hutton as the primary backup. Hutton struggled once again, something that he has done ever since he arrived in Buffalo. It would be wise for the Sabres to move on from Hutton, especially if they plan to have UPL on their roster.

Although this team is in a rebuild mode, it would be wise to bring back Ullmark for at least another year. He was a viable starting goalie option, and he could be a valuable piece to build a team with. He could also be a great mentor of UPL if the Sabres did decide to have him start the season in Buffalo.

Right now, it is too early for Luukkonen to become the number one goalie in Buffalo. Having him be the backup behind Ullmark for at least another year is the best decision. This way, he can learn from a quality starting goalie and face NHL talent in practice and when he plays. But it will be interesting to see how the Sabres handle this situation over the upcoming months.