Luukkonen - Buffalo Hockey Beat

In Topias Leinonen, Sabres thrilled to draft another high-end goalie prospect

MONTREAL – All along, the Buffalo Sabres planned to select a goalie this year. But there was a problem: the 2022 NHL Draft was light on net prospects.

Still, one youngster, Topias Leinonen, NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked European goalie, caught their eye.

“We felt this guy had first- (or) second-round value,” Jerry Forton, the Sabres’ director of amateur scouting, said Friday afternoon following the draft inside the Bell Centre. “The question was do we use ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Kevyn Adams won’t ‘panic’ over goalie; Ryan Johnson to attend camp

MONTREAL – The assets available in the crowded goalie market keep dwindling every day.

Two more netminders were traded Friday at the NHL Draft, as the St. Louis Blues dealt Ville Husso to the Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals dished Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils.

The Sabres, who must add another established goalie, have limited options. They tried to acquire Matt Murray from the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, but the two-time ... Read the full article

NHL Draft Tracker: Sabres select Finnish goalie Topias Leinonen 41st overall

MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres this morning selected Finnish goalie Topias Leinonen in the second round, 41st overall, at the NHL Draft.

The 6-foot-5, 233-pound Leinonen is NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked European goalie.

Leinonen, 18, spent most of last season with JYP, a junior team, compiling a 9-10-0 record with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 21 games. He also played four games with JYP’s pro team in Liiga and made ... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres pursued trade for Senators goalie Matt Murray

MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres must keep looking for another goalie.

A potential deal between the Sabres and Ottawa Senators involving Matt Murray was nixed because Buffalo is on the goalie’s 10-team no-trade list, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Senators would’ve retained some of Murray’s salary and given the Sabres the seventh overall pick in tonight’s NHL Draft in exchange for the 16th selection, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

“The reality is we worked ... Read the full article

Sabres discussing new Victor Olofsson contract, to talk to Ryan Johnson’s representatives

MONTREAL – General manager Kevyn Adams said on Wednesday the Buffalo Sabres have been working on a new contract with winger Victor Olofsson, the team’s most prominent restricted free agent.

“We’re in a good spot here,” Adams said inside the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, the team’s headquarters ahead of the NHL Draft. “Mark Jakubowski, who does a lot of our lead in the negotiating side, has had some good conversations as of late with ... Read the full article

After re-signing Craig Anderson, Sabres must acquire more goalies

BUFFALO – When veteran goalie Craig Anderson finished his first season with the Sabres, he wanted to take some time to decompress and evaluate his future.

The Sabres felt Anderson’s impact – in addition to stabilizing their net, he established himself as a leader and mentor on the rebuilding club – and sorely wanted him back for another season.

But Anderson, 41, needed to talk to his family and see how his body felt before ... Read the full article

After rough stints with Sabres, goalie Aaron Dell found game with Amerks

ROCHESTER – Goalie Aaron Dell arrived in Buffalo nine months ago as perhaps the favorite to win the Sabres’ backup job before enduring a miserable preseason and getting waived.

When an opportunity materialized to play in the NHL a month later, Dell struggled so badly the Sabres acquired another netminder and demoted him to the AHL again.

Dell, 33, compiled downright awful statistics – a 1-8-1 mark with a 4.03 goals-against average and an ... Read the full article

Amerks’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen nearly over injury, focused on consistency

ROCHESTER – Out of his element, up in the stands watching his Americans teammates compete in the Calder Cup Playoffs, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sometimes feels a little jittery.

“I think I’m 10 times more nervous watching it upstairs than when I’m in the goal,” Luukkonen told the Times Herald on Wednesday after the Amerks prepared for Game 3 of the AHL North Division final at Blue Cross Arena. “So that’s the tough part of it.”... Read the full article

Top Sabres prospects, AHL role players contributing to Amerks’ playoff success

The Rochester Americans just won their second Calder Cup Playoff series, and winger Jack Quinn, the AHL’s top rookie, hasn’t scored a goal.

Injuries have sidelined goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, two of the Buffalo Sabres’ other top prospects, the entire postseason.

On Thursday, the Amerks, who eked into the playoffs, defeated the top-seeded Utica Comets 4-2 and clinched the North Division semifinal without their injured captain, Michael Mersch, a 26-goal ... Read the full article

Utica’s Nolan Foote scores a first-period goal on Rochester goalie Aaron Dell on Tuesday.

Amerks fall to Comets, can’t close out series: ‘Wanted to finish it off now’

ROCHESTER – In opening up a series lead and putting the Utica Comets on the brink of elimination from the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Americans hadn’t seen the best out of the AHL powerhouse.

The top-seeded Comets only showcased flashes of their slick regular-season form throughout the first three games of best-of-five AHL North Division semifinal. In a do-or-die scenario Tuesday, you figured they would come out roaring.

Well, in Game 4, the Comets gave ... Read the full article