Luukkonen’s Late Season Lull Could Lead To Exit

In the season's final three weeks, the role of starter and backup was seemingly reversed, with James Reimer starting 11 of the final 16 games and Luukkonen going 1-3-1 in his five starts.

In spite of his late-season struggles, Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams said that they still had confidence in Luukkonen and that the blame for his bad numbers was more due to the club’s poor puck management.

“I have a huge amount of faith in UPL. (In) my exit meeting today with him, I was really impressed with his maturity and his diagnosis of his game and his season overall. I have a ton of faith in him.” Adams said on Saturday. ”There is a lot of variability year to year just in terms of ups and downs, so I have a lot of faith he’s gonna bounce back and have a really strong season next year.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that there are rumors that Luukkonen could be available on the trade market and that there are teams looking for goaltending help that could be interested.

The Sabres goaltending situation is certainly in flux this season. Devon Levi is in the final year of his entry-level contract and has put up excellent numbers in the American Hockey League, but is still unproven at the NHL level. Reimer gave the club some unexpected stability at the end of the season, but it is unknown whether Adams is interested in re-signing the 37-year-old to a new contract. How Levi performs in the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs could have a bearing on whether Buffalo will be willing to shop Luukkonen over the summer.