The idea of the Buffalo Sabres landing Connor Hellebuyck is nothing short of a dream come true. While that dream wouldn’t come cheap, it could very well be the final piece the organization needs to finally bring home a Stanley Cup.
But that thought seems like a pipe dream at the moment. And unless something radically changes soon, the Sabres may have no choice but to double down on their current goalie group.
That group includes three names at the moment. As it stands, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen would be earmarked as the starting goalie. He’s a fine netminder, but hasn’t proven to be the lights-out guy that virtually all contending teams have.
Backup Alex Lyon has been good. In fact, he’s been better than good. But the downside is that Lyon isn’t the sort of guy the Sabres can run out there forever.
As for Colten Ellis, he’s proven to be good. But he’s still a question mark. The early returns on Ellis have been positive, but not good enough to be the solution moving forward.
With that situation in mind, there’s no question that someone like Hellebuyck, or really any other high-end goalie for that matter, would be an ideal solution.
However, it’s not quite realistic to hope that Hellebuyck or anyone else can solve the Sabres’ needs in the crease. The only real path forward is to play solid defense in front of their current goalie group, and hope for at least league-average numbers.
Sabres can win without a high-end goalie
Last season, the Carolina Hurricanes proved yet again that it’s possible to win a Stanley Cup without a light-out, Vezina Trophy winner in the crease. The Hurricanes got the same sort of goaltending from Frederik Andersen as the Colorado Avalanche got from Darcy Kuemper in 2022.
If, say, Luukkonen can play well enough, like Andersen or Kuemper did, the Sabres could win a Cup. That’s not wishful thinking. It’s rooted in practicality.
To get there, the Sabres will need to play their best in front of their goalies. Solid defense and scoring can make it work. They did it last season. Buffalo pushed the Montreal Canadiens to the brink in the second round.
In fact, you could argue that a bounce here or there would have led to the Sabres advancing and not the Canadiens. That’s how close playoff hockey gets.
It will be interesting to see what happens moving forward. Sabres fans shouldn’t close the door to a massive trade. But until that happens, the team really doesn’t have much of a choice.
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