With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Malcolm Subban each occupying a practice net Monday morning at LECOM Harborcenter, Aaron Dell stood at center ice amid a group of Buffalo Sabres who were waiting for their turn to participate in an offensive-zone drill.
Dell appears to be the odd man out in the Sabres’ chaotic game of goalie musical chairs. He faced some shots during the fast-paced on-ice session and joined his fellow goalies on the charter flight to Winnipeg ahead of a three-game road trip, but all signs point to Luukkonen and Subban taking over as the club’s tandem until Dustin Tokarski returns from Covid-19 protocol.
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“I’m excited for Malcolm because it’s an opportunity, and he has such experience now that, hopefully, that hindsight and that experience will come to fruition here and benefit him and benefit us,” coach Don Granato said. “Ukko, tremendous progress from how he looked. Physically how he looked, and his psyche, I think, is at another level from training camp, from coming out of training camp. … We, obviously, would love for that to continue.”
Dell’s presence on the trip is likely a precautionary measure. The Sabres need to ensure Subban is ready to return from a lower-body injury that occurred during his debut with the team in Carolina on Dec. 4. If Subban is cleared, he’ll handle at least one of the three games, possibly as early as Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, and there is an opening for the 27-year-old to take over the starting job.
Luukkonen, 22, earned a longer stay in the NHL with his three solid performances last week, stopping 90 of 96 shots for a 1.98 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. He came up big against two of the top offensive teams in the NHL – Anaheim and Washington – and delivered his best performance yet with 40 saves Saturday against the Capitals.
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If all goes as planned, it’s possible Dell will be sent to Rochester this week. It’s a pivot the Sabres didn’t expect when they signed Dell to a one-year contract in July, but he’s struggled in seven games and Luukkonen convinced management that he can develop in the NHL until Tokarski returns.
“He’s going to be in a development phase of his career because his ceiling is so darn high,” Granato explained when asked about Luukkonen. “He’s just going to keep getting better and better, so how do we get to that ceiling faster? How do we improve him faster and make him better one month from now? The resources at our hand right now are games at the NHL and we’ve used them, and we’re going to continue to use it right now. He looks good, he feels good. Because of that, it’s the right place that he can make progress in the development areas right here, right now. It’s simple and it’s an easy decision based on that.”
The Sabres have scored only three goals in their last three games, a sudden regression after an outstanding run for their offense, and they need this run of consistent goaltending to continue so the young core isn’t facing large deficits early in games.
Buffalo’s goaltending was stellar until Craig Anderson suffered an upper-body injury Nov. 2, causing Tokarski to shoulder a workload unlike any he’s experienced in the NHL. Tokarski played exceptionally well in spurts – including a career-high 45 saves in a 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 – but he allowed six goals on 31 shots in his last start before entering Covid-19 protocol on Dec. 2. The Sabres recalled Luukkonen to start Tuesday against Anaheim because Subban wasn't ready to return, and Dell has performed poorly.
Tokarski exited quarantine, cleared mandatory cardiac testing and is back in Buffalo going through off-ice fitness testing. He is expected to begin skating during the Sabres’ road trip and could rejoin the team as early as the weekend.
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Until then, you’ll see the Sabres lean on Subban and Luukkonen. Subban was acquired by the Sabres from Chicago for future considerations on Dec. 2, a low risk move to add someone with 82 games of NHL experience who was once viewed as the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ goalie of the future. A first-round draft choice of the Boston Bruins in 2012, Subban was one of three goalies with Chicago’s AHL affiliate this season after he failed to make the Blackhawks’ roster out of camp.
Subban appeared in a career-high 22 games with Vegas in 2017-18, logging a .910 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average while backing up future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury. Subban finished the season with a 13-4-2 record. He achieved more success the following year, particularly a nine-start stretch in which he went 7-2 with a .920 save percentage, but he also had some bouts with inconsistency. Subban couldn’t take the starting job in Chicago after he was traded by Vegas for Robin Lehner.
“I think last summer was probably the best of my pro career to try to prepare for the season,” Subban said. “Over the years, I have just continued to grow my game. Since when I turned pro at 19, I’ve come such a long way in my game and my technical game. That mentality toward everything and being a professional. I feel like this is the furthest I’ve come and I’m looking to go further. … Every day is an opportunity to get better. I’m looking to earn everything and keep working as hard as I can. Keep pushing myself to be the best I can be.”
Subban was shaky in his Sabres debut when he allowed six goals on 25 shots, although his teammates didn’t help with a horrible defensive play on the first Carolina Hurricanes goal. Unlike other goalies who have been on waivers this season, Subban has shown that he has some untapped potential and could fit into the Sabres’ plans beyond this season.
If all goes as planned, it’s likely Luukkonen will return to Rochester when Tokarski is ready. Tokarski might require a conditioning start or two with the Amerks. Luukkonen, a second-round draft pick in 2017, has appeared in only 36 AHL games since the start of 2019-20. His development has been impacted negatively by hip surgery and the unusual schedule changes in Rochester stemming from the pandemic.
Mittelstadt, a 23-year-old center, underwent "successful" surgery on an undisclosed, upper-body injury Friday morning and faces an uncertain timeline to return, coach Don Granato told reporters.
Luukkonen has struggled with consistency at the AHL level, but he has a .918 save percentage in seven NHL games. While Luukkonen has surrendered some bad goals with the Sabres, he’s resilient. Former general manager Jason Botterill used to boast about Luukkonen’s ability to recover from adversity and often cited how Luukkonen led Finland to a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship only one year after he struggled at the tournament.
The Sabres know Luukkonen will take some punches, but they’re willing to let him learn in the NHL while Tokarski works his way back to game shape.
“He’s been unbelievable for us,” winger Victor Olofsson said of Luukkonen. “I think he’s been phenomenal all three games. There was a stretch last game in the third period where he made save after save, and he kind of kept us in the game for a moment there.”
