There are several teams early in the 2026-27 season that have major questions at goalie. All of those teams should be calling the Buffalo Sabres, who ultimately are hoping to acquire Connor Hellebuyck.
The Sabres have been actively connected to Hellebuyck going all the way back to the NHL Draft in June. Those rumors have persisted, and as late as Friday, Elliotte Friedman even noted that they are still a potential destination for the former Vezina Trophy winner, who hasn't reported to the Winnipeg Jets yet.
Right now, the Sabres have a crowded group with three goalies on the roster: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis. If they were to add Hellebuyck, they almost certainly would move two of them, with Luukkonen and Lyon being the most likely candidates, which would set up Ellis to be the long-term backup to Hellebuyck.
There is no question it would be a juggling act for Jarmo Kekalainen, and there are several hurdles to pull this off. For Luukkonen, he has a five-team no-trade clause that began on July 1st, and it remains unknown at this point which teams are on that list. As for Lyon, he has yet to make his season debut due to a shoulder injury, and any team acquiring him probably wants to know he is fully recovered and ready to contribute.
However, if I was the general manager of any of these four teams, the Buffalo Sabres would be my first call to see what it would take to acquire Luukkonen or Lyon and help the Sabres in the process of helping my roster.
New York Rangers
On Saturday, the New York Rangers announced that Igor Shesterkin would miss the remainder of the season due to an injury. On top of that, their backup, Joonas Korpisalo, is out for about a month with an injury.
Hopefully this is not an injury that carries over into next season, and Shesterkin can resume as the Rangers' starter and continue to be one of the best goalies in the game. For that reason, the Rangers would probably be more interested in Lyon, whose contract is up at the end of this season, instead of Luukkonen, who still has two years left after this season.
A duo of Lyon and Korpisalo definitely can't replace what is lost without Shesterkin but certainly could get them through the remainder of the season with above-average play.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have serious concerns in net between Jake Allen and Nico Daws, as both have struggled to begin the season. For Allen, he has gone 1-1 with a goals against average of 3.47, while Daws has one start but allowed six goals in that one game.
The Devils have always hoped that Allen could be that bridge goalie until Daws could be ready, but they may not be able to wait much longer on this plan.
This is a team that might be interested in either of the Sabres' goalies, as Lyon could be a better bridge goalie to get them through this season, and they can re-evaluate. However, if they believe Daws is not going to develop into a starter, then go with Luukkonen as more of a long-term solution at the position.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are in a tough position where they have made the playoffs five straight seasons now, but all five were first-round exits. They are also not a team getting any younger, but probably don't want to go through a full rebuild with some of the long-term contracts they have on their roster.
It is a situation where they are going to have to try and improve on the fly, and goalie is one of those positions they might want to make a move at.
Right now, the Kings have Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg as their goalies, but both are in the final year of their contracts, and neither is a long-term option, with Kuemper being 36 and Forsberg being 33 years old.
This seems like a team that would be very interested in Luukkonen, as he is still somewhat early in his career at 27 years old. However, he has almost 200 games played, has playoff experience, and still has term on his contract, with two more years after this season.
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