Dwindling Goaltending Market Could Spell Summer Trouble For Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are focused on finishing the 2024-25 season on a positive note after most of the campaign was dominated by the negative. On Monday, they notched their second win in a row in Boston, a 3-2 overtime victory over the Bruins on an Alex Tuch power-play goal. Barring an incredibly successful final 16 games, the Sabres are likely to finish in the bottom five of the NHL standings, and a number of questions will need to be addressed in the offseason.

One dilemma that may be increasing in complexity is Buffalo’s goaltending situation because of events outside the Sabres' sphere. A number of NHL clubs have prioritized locking up goaltenders who were pending unrestricted free agents to long-term extensions. Last week, the Vegas Golden Knights extended goalie Adin Hill to a six-year, $37.5 million deal. Hill joins Washington’s Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren, Jonathan Quick of the New York Rangers, Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood, Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen, and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka in signing new deals.

The 2025 free agent class has now dwindled to a group of question marks, such as Alexandar Georgiev, Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, Frederik Andersen, Daniel Vladar, and Jake Allen, that does not appear to be an answer to a club looking for a #1 starter, which has the Sabres in a precarious position.

Buffalo wisely decided to send youngster Devon Levi down to AHL Rochester early in the season and that has paid off with a 20-9-3 record, 2.29 GAA, and .915 save % with the Amerks. The 23-year-old’s entry-level contract expires in July, and with a number of clubs looking for goaltending help, the Sabres will have to find out what it will take to get Levi signed to a contract extension.

The Sabres will submit a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent, but as St. Louis did with Edmonton forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg, a club could sign Levi to an offer sheet, forcing Buffalo to match the offer or accept draft compensation. GM Kevyn Adams or whoever succeeds him will have to determine before July 1 whether they can get Levi signed to an extension. If the Sabres cannot or Levi demands to be a starter, then Adams will have to trade him or sign him and trade Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make room for him.

The lack of viable options in free agency could result in the likes of John Gibson, Tristan Jarry, and Thatcher Demko being moved, but the prospect of signing or dealing for Levi may be a more attractive option for teams looking for a younger and more durable netminder and that could drive the price teams are willing to pay. It is unlikely that the Sabres will be interested in paying more than $10 million in salary between Levi and Luukkonen when they have so many other areas of the club needing to be bolstered, so the odds are that at the start of training camp this September, one of Buffalo’s young goalies will be elsewhere.