The paint is still fresh on the Buffalo Sabres’ final game of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Plenty of mental replays are going on about what went wrong and what could have been different. After all, Buffalo’s fate came down to one shot.
Yes, the Sabres had a fantastic season as a well-rounded team. The defense, offense, all of it came together, even if it came up short in the end.
But there’s one area that remains uncertain: Goaltending. And if the organization isn’t sure about the direction it plans to take, it had better avoid the costly mistake the Edmonton Oilers made over the last three seasons.
Let’s back up for a second.
The Oilers went to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025. The team took the Florida Panthers to a Game 7, narrowly winning the Cup.
A talented team boasting two of the game’s best players had one apparent weakness: Goaltending. The organization didn’t seem to have trust in starter Stuart Skinner. Despite playing well enough to win, he just couldn’t come up with a clutch save or steal a game for the Oilers.
By the time the Oilers decided to move on from Skinner, they made a boneheaded move, one that actually made the team even worse.
That’s the mistake the Sabres must avoid. If the team does not have the confidence in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as “The Guy” in the crease, it’s high time the club looked at finding a high-end solution.
The last thing GM Jarmo Kekalainen must do is make a panicked, reactionary move when it seems like everything is going down the tubes.
This offseason could offer Sabres an opportunity to land solid goalie
There are two ways the Sabres could land a solid goalie this season. One is to look at the free agent market. Even if the market is thin at the moment, a free agent like Sergei Bobrovsky could be a good alternative.
Yes, Bobrovsky is 37. Yes, he’s coming off a down year. But a tandem of Bobrovsky and Luukkonen might not be so bad. The Sabres wouldn’t need the two-time Cup champ to play 70 games and every minute of every playoff game.
Then, there’s the trade route. The St. Louis Blues are believed to have Jordan Binnington available. Could the Sabres swing a deal with the Blues involving Binnington? It’s a possibility.
Landing a goalie like Binnington, even if his numbers are seemingly trending downward, could, again, offer Luukkonen a fantastic tandem partner. A Luukkonen-Binnington pair would provide a solid mix of experience and youth.
Now, are Bobrovsky and Binnington the answer? Not necessarily. But what this discussion aims to uncover is the need for the Sabres to act now. They can’t afford to wait two or even three more seasons while they decide if Luukkonen is the guy.
If the organization feels Luukkonen is their man, then what the club needs is a solid backup like Alex Lyon.
But if there is any hesitation about Luukkonen being the No. 1 guy in Buffalo, the Sabres need to act quickly. They can’t afford to let another season go by without having a goalie they trust.
A move may not necessarily happen this offseason, but it’s something that the Sabres have to keep an eye on as next season unfolds.
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