The Buffalo Sabres’ goaltending depth has already been put under a spotlight before the 2026-27 regular season even begins.
Buffalo opens Thursday with plenty of buzz after ending its 15-year playoff drought, winning the Atlantic Division and getting within one goal of the Eastern Conference Final. But the week leading into the opener has also brought a string of injury concerns, and the crease is now the biggest one.
Alex Lyon went down in Detroit last Thursday with a shoulder injury, and then Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen exited Saturday’s 3-1 preseason finale loss to Pittsburgh early in the third period after what Lindy Ruff called a tweak of a lower body injury. That leaves Colten Ellis as the only healthy goalie on the roster right now.
Ruff sounded encouraged on the injury front elsewhere, saying blueliner Olen Zellweger could be available in Columbus for the opener and expressing hope that Mattias Samuelsson’s injury will not take as long as the week-to-week designation suggests. Even so, Jarmo Kekalainen moved quickly late last week, signing veteran Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year deal.
With the goalie situation unsettled, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that Kekalainen could look to the waiver wire for help. Sunday brought a long list of netminders placed on waivers, including Laurent Brossoit (ANA), Matt Tomkins (EDM), Kappo Kahkonen (MTL), David Rittich (NJD), Vitek Vanacek (NYI), Dylan Garand (NYR), Ilya Samsonov (SJS), Georgi Romanov (STL), Mads Sogaard (TBL), Nikita Tolopilo (VAN) and Clay Stevenson (WSH).
In Other News...
Sabres May Face A Bigger Marchenko Question Than Fans Realize
The chatter around Kirill Marchenko has started to sound like more than a passing rumor, and it lands in a spot the Sabres cant ignore. Several Atlantic Division rivals have shown interest in the Columbus Blue Jackets winger, which naturally puts Buffalo on alert as it continues building around a young forward group and evaluating whether its internal development plan is ready to carry more of the load.
Columbus, for its part, is not acting like a team under pressure to move him right away, and the asking framework matters as much as the name itself. If the Blue Jackets decide to listen, they appear to want immediate help rather than a package built around future pieces, which is the kind of price tag that can separate the serious suitors from the curious ones and leave Buffalo weighing how much urgency it should attach to a player it may not have considered a must-have yet. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Top Defense Prospect Already Knows What Must Change
Daxon Rudolph arrived in the Sabres system as part of a draft haul that came after Buffalo landed a top-five pick, and the organization is already looking at him as a future piece on a blueline that has some established NHL contracts in place. For now, though, the young defenseman is staying in college, with the University of Denver set to be his next stop while Buffalo keeps tabs on his development from afar.
That gives the Sabres time to watch the most important part of his growth take shape. Rudolph already knows the areas that have to sharpen if he is going to fit into Buffalos long-term defense picture, and the focus is on the finer details that separate a promising prospect from a reliable NHL regular. For a team that has invested in its back end, that kind of awareness is a good sign, even if the real test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Get Goalie Relief But Opening Night Still Has Two Big Worries
The Sabres at least got one bit of good news as they set their initial 23-man roster, with their goalie situation no longer looking quite as dire as it did earlier in camp. Buffalo does not have any of its top three goaltenders on injured reserve, and that alone gives the coaching staff a little more flexibility heading into the start of the season.
Still, the roster comes with two obvious concerns right at the top of the depth chart. Mattias Samuelsson and Connor Timmins are both on injured reserve, leaving Buffalo short on expected top-six defensemen, and the blue line is not the only spot without a clear answer. The club has not yet settled on a starter for the opener, with Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis all still in the mix. [Read more 🡒]