The Buffalo Sabres could roll with a promising goaltending tandem featuring Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in 2023-24.
The Buffalo Sabres are a young hockey team, and there is a chance they could show even more youth next season. Longtime players like Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons are unrestricted free agents (though one or both could be back), and there is talk regarding whether Victor Olofsson will be moved.
At goaltender, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will man the net. For now, at least, as general manager Kevyn Adams still has Eric Comrie on the roster, along with several free agent options he can opt to bring in. Then, of course, there is the entire Connor Hellebuyck rumor.
But let’s assume for a second the Sabres go with Levi and Luukkonen. Is this a smart idea? Let’s look closer.
Should the Buffalo Sabres roll with Levi and Luukkonen?
Pros
For one, going with Levi and Luukkonen shows the duo that the Buffalo Sabres believe they can handle the workload of a full season. This should create optimism in both goaltenders, with Levi serving as the 1A and Luukkonen, the 1B.
For another, we can’t deny that the mentality of going with young players in the system over bringing in established talent has worked. We saw it happen last season with the Kid Line featuring Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and J.J. Peterka, and the year before that, the then-brewing tandem of Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson.
This also indicates that the Sabres don’t only have a tandem for 2023-24; they could potentially have one for the foreseeable future. With two ultra-young NHL talents, it’s not farfetched to believe these two will become stalwarts in the Queen City and make up the tandem for the next half-decade, at least.
Cons
Inexperience is probably the one that looms in everyone’s mind, as these two have only started 52 NHL games. The Buffalo Sabres are figuring to contend for the playoffs in 2023-24, so going with so much inexperience at the position is a risk.
Sure, this has worked with the Dahlin-Samuelsson pairing (though the former had a few years under his belt) and the Kid Line, but remember, the last two seasons were developmental years. They could have gone with youth and no one would have batted an eye last season, but that’s not the case in 2023-24.
Further, we have no idea whether the duo can withstand the rigors of a full NHL season. While Luukkonen was in Buffalo from November until April, basically a full season, he ultimately became part of a three, and when Levi arrived, a four-goalie rotation. The slate of games he actually played in wasn’t enough for someone who would likely serve as a 1B in 2023-24.
So while it would be great to see the Sabres believe the tandem can handle a full season, there are no guarantees. In a year when everyone will expect playoffs, this is a massive risk.
Verdict
Overall, if I’m Kevyn Adams, I’m going with Levi and Luukkonen. While it’s more than a risk for a playoff-caliber team to put its faith into a pair of inexperienced goaltenders, Levi has shown time and again he can adapt to anything.
It’s also true that Luukkonen saw his fair share of struggles. But he also proved time and again for a stretch that he can put together strings of remarkable outings. If the Buffalo Sabres land a top four defenseman and the rotation stays healthy, I have no doubt Luukkonen’s save percentage and quality starts percentage will increase, while his GAA slashes.
If the duo stays healthy, it’s easy to see Levi logging 45 starts this season, while Luukkonen takes roughly 35, and perhaps Comrie goes to the AHL but gets a recall later in the year following the trade deadline and logs a pair of starts toward the season’s end.
In short, going the youth route has worked for the Sabres so far. So even in a year when we are talking playoffs, why fix something that isn’t broken?
Source: Offseason Checklist: Buffalo Sabres by Brian LaRose, ProHockeyRumors.com