Buffalo Sabres: 3 areas where Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen must improve
Despite setbacks, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the frontrunner to be the Buffalo Sabres starting goaltender in the 2022-23 season
No one on the Buffalo Sabres suffered through a more star-crossed season than Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He appeared in nine games with the Sabres last year and recorded some stellar outings, although he also had his struggles in the net.
Heading down to Rochester, inconsistency marred Luukkonen’s game, but he also logged a career-best 0.900 save percentage in 35 contests. Contrast this number with previous seasons, in which his save percentage never rose higher than 0.888. However, he won just 15 of those 35 outings at the AHL level and just two of nine during his brief stint with the Buffalo Sabres.
Luukkonen figures to be in the running to open the season as the starting goaltender, assuming he re-signs with the organization. But if he wants to be the long-term answer, here are three areas of improvement for the netminder.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen must improve – Area #1: Consistency
Consistency is an obvious issue with Luukkonen. He has a combined career record of 29-31-13, which is not quite what you are looking for in a goaltender hopping into the net of a team looking to contend next season.
Regardless of whether Luukkonen becomes the top man in the net next season, the Sabres need to either talk Craig Anderson into returning for a swan song or sign a goalie in free agency. Many fans like Malcolm Subban, but he is not an ideal backup to a potentially struggling starter. Subban is better suited to be either a high-end AHL-level goaltender or a backup for a team with an upper-echelon goalie.
Luukkonen does not fit the latter description. It’s great that Kevyn Adams at least implied (actions speak louder) he wants Luukkonen or Devon Levi to have the first crack at netminder. In 2022-23, that would go to Luukkonen since Levi decided to return to school.
Expect Luukkonen to have his chance. But if he can’t get consistent, he will be a washout next season.
Area #2: Durability
Injuries knocked Luukkonen out of action multiple times last season. And he was part of a seemingly never-ending carousel of injuries/COVID-19 cases at goaltender that also took Anderson, Dustin Tokarski, Subban, and Michael Houser out of action.
Aaron Dell, who played in Luukkonen’s place in the playoffs, also missed time via a suspension before the Sabres reassigned him to Rochester. For Luukkonen to be the long-term solution for the Sabres, he cannot keep missing time with injuries.
For one, it stagnates his development, which we could tie in with his inconsistencies. For another, prolonged injury troubles will force the Sabres to look elsewhere as early as next season. If Levi signs and is ready to go for 2023-24, Luukkonen will be one-and-done if his injury issues continue.
Area #3: Frame
Luukkonen does not possess the ideal height-to-weight ratio for a goaltender and he can easily pack on another 10 to 15lb without losing his fluidity. The larger frame would give him more presence and better productivity in the net. It may even help increase his durability.
He is quick and possesses outstanding reflexes. So you don’t want to see him add so much bulk that he sacrifices that quickness. Luukkonen also needs to add strength to his lower body, given the number of lower-body injuries he suffered this past season.
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Overall, Luukkonen is one of those prospects you root for, especially since the Sabres may be a goaltender away from seriously contending for the playoffs next season. But for him to become ‘the guy’ or the ‘goaltender of the future’, he needs to get more consistent and durable, while filling out his large frame.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and Amerks.com)