Is Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen on the trade block this offseason?

Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen had a down season, as he lost his starting spot to James Reimer in the back half of the season. UPL played the same number of games in the last two seasons, and the splits are quite surprising.

UPL went from a 2.57 to a 3.20 goals against average, a massive jump from the previous season. He also went from a .910 save percentage to a .887 save percentage, which ultimately decimated his season.

Watching UPL at the end of the year, it was obvious that his confidence was lacking. He was letting up big rebounds, his positioning was off, and his awareness made him seem lost. Now, one of the reasons for that, I believe, is because they pushed him a lot in the first half of the season, as they didn’t have much of a backup goalie.

Devon Levi struggled, and they were uncertain about James Reimer. I think UPL was burnt out and just needed some games off. However, this stretch did not impress management, as they are willing to take calls on UPL.

Do I think UPL is going anywhere? No, but if they were to get rid of him, they would shed his four-million-dollar contract, and could add some solid depth pieces. The Flyers, Canadiens, and the Penguins are teams that have asked about UPL, according to Elliot Friedman. If the Sabres were to move on from UPL, what would their options be?

Possibly Options

In the system already, Devon Levi would be first up. His stint with the Sabres didn’t go as planned but he dominated in Rochester this year, which could mean he would be one of the goalies on the team next year.

If not, a few options for the Sabres would be as listed,

Alexandar Georgiev
Joey Daccord
Ilya Samsonov
Frederik Anderson

I would look for a veteran presence in the net for the Sabres going into next year if UPL is traded. I think James Reimer could also be another option, as he proved he is still solid in between the pipes at 37 years old.

I think UPL just needs a reset with some healthy defenders in front of him going into next season. He also needs to be rotated out more, so we don’t see him getting burned out as well. Ultimately, I think UPL is the first option moving forward, but we will see what the Sabres do in the upcoming months.