The Buffalo Sabres have plenty of reasons to feel good about the way their 2025-26 season played out, and Alex Lyon was a big part of that story.
Buffalo finished first in the loaded Atlantic Division and followed that by winning its first Stanley Cup playoffs series in 15 years, taking down the Boston Bruins in the opening round before the Montreal Canadiens knocked them out in Round 2. That kind of team success usually leads to a favorable report card, and Lyon’s individual grade fits right into that picture.
The veteran goalie appeared in 36 games last season and delivered a .907 save percentage along with a 2.77 GAA. He also posted a career-high three shutouts for Buffalo. For a netminder carrying a $1.5-million cap hit with one season left on his contract, that’s strong value.
Grade: A-
Lyon will be 34 in December, so the clock is ticking a bit on his chances to chase a championship. He doesn’t need to carry the Sabres on his own to justify a top-tier mark, but he does need to keep doing exactly what he’s been doing: giving Buffalo reliable work as part of its tandem with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
That tandem matters even more now that Buffalo has Colten Ellis on the depth chart and has already moved former goalie-of-the-future Devon Levil to the Edmonton Oilers this summer. Lyon isn’t the goalie of the future, either, but he and Luukkonen are the goalies of the now.
If Lyon repeats the level he showed last season, Buffalo will be more than happy with the return. And if that happens, an extension in Western New York would be very much in play.
He’s not going to win a Vezina Trophy, but Lyon is good enough to anchor one half of a competitive pairing. For a Sabres team trying to push even further next season, that could end up being a huge piece of the puzzle.
In Other News...
Sabres Prospects Just Got A Ranking Treatment Fans Will Hate
Corey Pronmans annual Top Prospects and Players Under 23 list always draws a reaction, and this years version is no different for Buffalo fans. The new ranking spans 156 names, but the wider conversation around it is less about who made the cut than how the cuts were made, with the list once again drawing criticism for what looks like a heavy lean toward recency and reputation over sustained production.
For the Sabres, that means a few familiar frustrations are already bubbling up. Some young players who have put together real NHL or AHL stretches were slotted lower than expected, while others with thinner rsums were placed ahead of them, a mismatch that has fans re-litigating how these lists are built in the first place. The individual placements are the part that will get debated longest, because the rankings seem to leave plenty of room for disagreement before anyone even gets to the names that were left out. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Prospect Could Quietly Change Buffalos Defensive Depth Picture
Simon-Pier Brunet has already given Buffalo something it can always use more of in the system: a defense-first blue line prospect with size, skating and reach. The 20-year-old was a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after four seasons in the QMJHL, and his profile fits the sort of steady, low-maintenance defender that can quietly become more valuable as a depth chart gets tested.
Brunets next step comes at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, where he will try to translate that defensive foundation into a bigger role against NCAA competition. Buffalo still keeps his NHL rights, which gives the organization some flexibility while it waits to see how much more he can add to his game before the discussion turns from long-term project to real depth option. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Are Counting On 3 Young Forwards To Change Everything
The Sabres are heading into the season with a young forward group that could help shape what comes next, and Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius sit at the center of that conversation. Kulichs track record already gives Buffalo a reason to believe he can bring real offense, while Ostlunds first NHL season offered a glimpse of what he might become. Helenius, meanwhile, has only had a limited taste of the league, but the organization sees enough upside to keep him in the mix as part of a broader push toward a faster, deeper attack.
For Buffalo, the appeal is obvious: if even one of these players takes a meaningful step, the ripple effect could be felt throughout the lineup. The challenge is just as clear, though, because each comes with a different layer of uncertainty, from health to availability to how quickly a young player can translate promise into steady NHL impact. The Sabres do not need all three to become stars overnight, but they do need enough of a breakthrough to make this season feel like more than another wait-and-see exercise. [Read more 🡒]