2025 Buffalo Sabres Player Report Card: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Stinkker of a Season for 6K

Total Season Stats: GP 55, W 24, L 24, GGA 3.20, SP.887 with 2 shutouts

Age: 26

Contract Status: Signed, entering year two of a five year deal, $4,750,000 cap hit

My top three disappointing Sabres this past season:

3 Jordan Greenway: Not all his fault, he played well defensively and on the PK. The recurring injuries are frustrating as hell though. His offensive numbers were also minimal for the games he did play. This from a Greenway fan.

2 Jack Quinn: Though he had a pretty good finish, Quinn’s early season struggles really set the Sabres back. More than any other forward. His lack of production in his top 6 role cost the team wins.

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Let’s give the most disappointing highlighted player here a full report.

The trouble with Luukkonen’s fall-off this season can’t really be pinpointed to one answer. One of the best theories though is fatigue. The Sabres ran him out there to the tune of 55 games but most of those were in long consecutive streaks. Had James Reimer not gone on his hot streak, it is almost certain UPL would have had more than 60 appearances. UPL’s play needs to be rationed better. He can play 7 out of 10 games no problem but don’t overwork him to the tune of 7 in a row. Especially in a packed schedule. This is a fixable problem and should help him in the future.

Now, getting down to the meat of the issue, what the hell happened with our goalie? He started off OK but got worse and worse as the season wore on. His play dropped off at the halfway point but really suffered in the last 1/3 of the season. He looked slower than normal and was constantly out of position. His “overslides” were a real problem, even the casual fan would point them out. He overcommitted often, unable to stop his momentum, resulting in a half empty cage behind him. There were dozens of goals scored on Luukkonen this year where his body was completely out of the paint when the puck went in. I’m not sure if this was desperation in the player or if he lost some of the basics from goaltending 101. I don’t remember this issue as much in past seasons. Either way, this flaw in his game needs to be corrected.

Confidence was an issue too. In his last 10-15 appearances of the year, UPL was on the wrong side of 3 goals against far too often. Even when the Sabres managed to keep the shots against low. He would often allow 4 goals on 23 shots or 5 goals on 28 shots. Poor save percentages in most of his games. His frustration began to show in his body language too which would often lead to another quick goal against. The biggest problem to me though was the lack of a timely save from Luukkonen. Buffalo would finally battle back from down 3-1 to tie it, then WHOOPS, a floater goes in over UPL’s glove. Or he is outclassed and undressed on a breakaway. Or he overcommits on what should be a standard save, leaving the net empty for a goal. I don’t think UPL had any injuries of note that would hamper his play that much, other than normal NHL bumps and bruises. Some of it seemed to be his mechanics, some of it was mental. Some of it was Buffalo’s poor defensive coverage as well but UPL was unable to cover for that. I think James Reimer had more big time, game on the line saves in his limited action than Luukkonen did.

If I have to single a player out, none was more disappointing than Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. As the goalie goes, so does the team. I realize there are contributing factors to his poor performance this year and I do feel he is capable of bouncing back. Until then, many fans will speculate about trading the 26 year old this summer. The good news? We know he can be a solid player, we’ve seen it. If he does bounce back and maintains that level of play, the Sabres will have 4 more years of a starting goalie signed to a sweet deal. Not many teams can lay claim to a number one goalie making under 5 million. I do hope he finds his way again, even as I offer other options for Buffalo’s crease elsewhere on this site. For now though, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has my worst grade of this series and probably among the other writers too.

Grade: D+