Sabres fill needs in goal, defense by signing Eric Comrie, Ilya Lyubushkin

He never wanted to overpay someone on a long-term contract when free agency began Wednesday at noon, even if doing so would solve the Sabres’ problem in the interim. Trades were discussed but not completed, none more impactful than two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray declining to join Buffalo. 

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The Sabres’ hockey operations department targeted veteran goalies who would sign for one or two years to work in tandem with Craig Anderson and hold the starting job until a prospect is ready. And shortly after free agency opened, Adams got his preferred target.

Eric Comrie, a 27-year-old with 28 games of NHL experience, signed a two-year contract with the Sabres that carries a $1.8 million cap hit. A reliable backup with the Winnipeg Jets, Comrie is positioned to be Buffalo’s starter and will split the workload with Anderson, a 41-year returning for his 20th NHL season.

The contract was complete Wednesday after the Sabres and winger Victor Olofsson agreed to terms on a two-year pact with a $4.75 million average annual value, avoiding a possible arbitration hearing for the restricted free agent. And Buffalo added a veteran right-shot defenseman with Ilya Lyubushkin, a 28-year-old from Russia, joining the club on a two-year deal worth $2.75 million per season.

Adams’ series of transactions set the roster for training camp, barring an unexpected addition, and moved the Sabres above the NHL-mandated salary-cap floor while ensuring there’s ample cap space for future seasons.

“He’s very talented,” Adams said of Comrie following the Sabres’ development camp practices in LECOM Harborcenter. “He has a strong – from a numbers perspective – profile and body of work from what he’s done through the American league and then his opportunity from when he has played in the NHL. He just hasn’t had a ton of opportunity. But for me, this was a goaltender that we feel that is right there on the cusp of taking that step and that’s why he was our guy we were going to target.”

Comrie is an intriguing, albeit unproven, goalie at the NHL level. He’s played 207 games in the American Hockey League since his selection in the second round of the 2013 draft and had success when he finally received an opportunity with the Jets last season.

In 19 appearances, Comrie posted a 10-5-1 record, .920 save percentage and, according to Evolving-Hockey.com, 9.89 goals saved above expected, which measures a goalie’s performance based on quality of shots faced and anything above zero is above average. He has a career .905 save percentage in the NHL, though he didn’t play in more than three games in any season with Winnipeg prior to 2021-22.

Comrie came within only a few games of qualifying for another year of restricted free agency but needed another 90 minutes of ice time. He emerged as one of the Sabres’ top targets when it became clear that he would be available. Their pro scouting staff, led by Jeremiah Crow, goalie expertise, including position coach Mike Bales, and analytics department thought highly of Comrie. And the Sabres saw enough to think he’s capable of more.

“Here, we feel strongly we’re getting a good goaltender, but we see upside,” Adams added. “We see a player that wants this opportunity, wants the chance to run with it and high-character. ... High-character, really well-liked by his teammates, wanted to be here. That’s a big deal. Looked at this organization as one he wanted to be part of and I get excited when I hear that, not just from him but the agent this afternoon.”

The signing set the stage for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to begin the season in Rochester, where the 2017 second-round pick can continue his development as the starter for a talented Amerks club that is expected to include prospects Isak Rosen, Aleksandr Kisakov and Lukas Rousek, among others. Malcolm Subban, 28, is expected to be Luukkonen’s goalie partner, providing wisdom gained through his 86 appearances in the NHL.

Luukkonen was effective in his 13 appearances with the Sabres over the past two seasons but lower-body injuries, including one in the regular-season finale in Rochester, have delayed his full-time arrival in the NHL. Adams spoke to Luukkonen’s agents last week in Montreal to explain the organization’s plan in goal. And when the Comrie signing was complete, Adams called Luukkonen to express confidence in the 23-year-old’s ability and potential.

“I called him after we signed Comrie because I just wanted to make sure he understood that we believe in him and we see him as a very good NHL goaltender and playing for the Buffalo Sabres, but what we don’t need to do is rush him,” Adams added. “We want to see him continue to get ice time, continue to get his starts, continue to get the reps he needs and, you know, he’s had some injuries. He’s had to miss some time. So, we just want to make sure when it’s the right time, it’s the right time, and not force anything.”

There was never a doubt that Olofsson would be back in the fall. A restricted free agent, the 26-year-old winger likely wanted more term on the contract, but the Sabres kept this a short-term deal to buy time for prospects like Rosen, Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka to develop. It’s possible that one of the three eventually take Olofsson's role in Buffalo.

Until then, the Sabres need Olofsson as a fixture on the second or third line. He totaled 20 goals last season despite playing through a wrist injury that impacted the release and accuracy of his left-handed shot. Buffalo wanted to avoid salary arbitration because Olofsson had a strong case for a contract of around $5 million annually, including his 55 goals, 27 on the power play, since debuting in March 2019.

Remarkably, last season was Olofsson’s first 82-game campaign in the NHL because of the Pandemic. With the 2014 seventh-round pick under contract, the Sabres will have the following forwards with experience in camp: Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, Kyle Okposo, Peyton Krebs, Casey Mittelsadt, Vinnie Hinostroza, Zemgus Girgensons, Anders Bjork and Rasmus Asplund. Prospects Quinn and Peterka will compete for roster spots in training camp.

The Sabres declined to sign a fourth-line center and Adams acknowledged he’s unsure who will fill that spot. Girgensons can play center or wing and West Seneca native Sean Malone could be an option. Short on roster spots, Buffalo prioritized re-signing Hinostroza over adding down the middle.

Lyubushkin will fill the void created by the departures of Colin Miller, Mark Pysyk and Will Butcher. The Sabres needed a reliable, miserable-to-play-against right-shot defenseman to complement their offensively gifted young players on the back end, particularly Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Lyubushkin will help on the penalty kill and can play on the second or third pairing. His 211 games of experience will be useful on a blue line that has an average age of 23.5 years old.

It’s also useful for the Sabres to add an experienced Russian player after the club selected six players from the country over the past two drafts, including Kisakov, who is expected to be in Rochester next season.

Lyubushkin’s good at defending the slot, including on the rush. His goals above replacement, a metric by Evolving-Hockey.com that measures a player's impact in all situations, was 5.8 and 4.9 in 2019-20 and 2021-22, respectively. The latter mark would have ranked seventh on the Sabres last season.

The defense is now set with Lyubushkin, Dahlin, Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju, Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald. Buffalo also added depth on the blue line by signing three players for Rochester on two-way contracts: Kale Clague, Chase Priskie and Jeremy Davies.

“He can kind of play with any type of player,” Adams said of Lyubushkin. “We just felt that with the D that we have and the young D that we have and the skill that we have, he’d be a good fit. Here’s another guy that I loved my conversation this afternoon with his agent, with him, before we signed him that he looked at our team and thought, ‘I think this is a good fit for me and I want to be part of this.’ ”

The Sabres might not be done. More depth is needed in Rochester and they're awaiting word on Lawrence Pilut's ability to sign with Buffalo after he terminated his previous contract in Russia. But Adams grinned when describing how he addressed his needs at the start of free agency, beginning with Hinostroza's signing Tuesday.

"Feel really good about yesterday," Adams said, "and really, really good about today."