Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams doesn't learn from his mistakes. This marks the second time in the past three years he's saddled the team's coaching staff with a three-goalie rotation that was doomed to fail from the start.
In 2023-24, the Sabres rostered Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Eric Comrie and Devon Levi. UPL played well, which led Adams to immediately give him a long-term contract extension that looks like an unforced error in hindsight, while having to split the remaining games led to the worst season of Comrie's career and stalled Levi's development.
This year, with UPL nursing injuries throughout training camp, Adams signed Alexandar Georgiev and then claimed Colten Ellis off waivers from the St. Louis Blues before the start of the regular season.
It created an absolute mess between the pipes, and it's left a daily headache for head coach Lindy Ruff and his assistants as they attempt to divvy up the practice and game time.
Georgiev, frustrated with being stuck in the AHL, had his contract terminated by Buffalo so he could join the KHL's Spartak Moscow in Russia. Levi, whose path to the NHL is now blocked, became the subject of speculation he'd made a trade request.
Meanwhile, Alex Lyon was the Sabres' best player for the season's first 10 games. He's played just once over the past nine contests, however, and his performance has dropped off dramatically without the steady stream of starts he received to open the campaign.
Luukkonen and Ellis have mostly split the crease in recent weeks, with Ruff implementing a hot-hand approach, but neither one has been able to secure a strong grip on the starting job.
As a result, all three Buffalo goalies now own a save percentage below .900 and the club's overall mark in that key category is .897, which is tied for 17th in the NHL.
Yet, as the Sabres netminders falter amid the uncertain situation — Ellis allowed five goals on 35 shots in Wednesday night's 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers — Adams continues to stand idly by.
The GM seems scared to make a tough decision, whether it be trading UPL or sending either Lyon or Ellis to the waiver wire, with fear it'll come back to haunt him. Perhaps it's a legitimate concern given how many of his past moves led to former Sabres living their best hockey lives elsewhere.
So, even though the obviously flawed three-goalie rotation is costing Buffalo key points in a playoff race where it's already playing from behind, Adams has refused to remedy the problem.
Naming the former NHL center as the club's GM was a head-scratching decision when team owner Terry Pegula made it in June 2020, and keeping him in that position despite the franchise's complete lack of on-ice success makes it more mind-boggling with each passing day.
Alas, it doesn't appear Pegula is eager to make a change as the playoff drought threatens to reach 15 years, so let's begrudgingly dive into the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series.
Buffalo Sabres lay an egg amid lackluster performances in Dec. 3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Alex Tuch | 7 |
Bowen Byram | 6.5 |
Owen Power | 6 |
Josh Doan | 5.5 |
Jason Zucker | 5.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 5 |
Zach Benson | 5 |
Noah Ostlund | 5 |
Tage Thompson | 4.5 |
Josh Norris | 4.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 4 |
Jack Quinn | 4 |
Jacob Bryson | 3.5 |
Conor Timmins | 3 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 3 |
Josh Dunne | 2.5 |
Colten Ellis | 2 |
Beck Malenstyn | 1.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 1 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Alex Tuch
A quick look at Tuch's baseline numbers — 24 points (nine goals and 15 assists) in 27 games — would suggest it's been smooth sailing for the veteran winger this season. That isn't the case, though. He was the focus of ample criticism for his lackadaisical play early in the campaign.
That early malaise is now firmly in the rear-view mirror. He's been the Sabres' most consistent player during a recent surge that was interrupted by Wednesday's loss to Philadelphia. His strong two-way game is back on display pretty much every game.
Tuch dished out an assist and blocked four shots against the Flyers while playing over five minutes on the penalty kill. Last season, he set a new NHL record for forwards with 113 blocks, which came in a campaign where he also scored 36 goals.
Of course, the downside to his success for Buffalo is that it makes him a coveted commodity and, as an impending unrestricted free agent, he controls his future. If he's going to test the open market, Adams will have little choice but to move him ahead of March's 2026 NHL trade deadline.
Sabres quick hits
- Owen Power's underlying metrics have shown signs of improvement recently, but where are the points? He hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 8 or tallied an assist since Nov. 13.
- Bowen Byram and Jason Zucker lit the lamp for Buffalo in the loss.
- An underwhelming performance from Tage Thompson, and he admitted after the contest there are areas of leadership where he must improve.
- A more muted outing from Josh Norris is his second game back from injury.
- The Sabres' fourth line, a bright spot over the past few weeks, had a rough night across the board.
- It's fair to wonder whether Buffalo may try to sneak Ellis through waivers after the poor start. Taking all three goalies on the reminder of the six-game road trip doesn't make sense on paper.
- The Sabres (11-12-4) are back in action Friday night (7 p.m. ET) when they visit the Canada Life Centre to battle the Winnipeg Jets (13-12-1). Buffalo won the first meeting, 5-1.