Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's wait finally ended Wednesday when the restricted free agent goalie prospect signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres.
The deal, which the team announced less than 24 hours after Tage Thompson received a $50 million extension, carries a $837,500 average annual value. A source told The Buffalo News that the second year of the contract is a one-way, meaning Luukkonen's salary will be the same in Rochester if he doesn't make the NHL roster.
However, Luukkonen, 23, will no longer be waivers-exempt following the 2022-23 season.
It's not unusual for a restricted free agent to wait this long for a contract. Luukkonen was among 16 across the NHL who had yet to sign as of Tuesday, a group that included established players such as the Dallas Stars’ Jason Robertson, who totaled 41 goals last season. There were six players who totaled at least 20 points in the NHL in 2021-22 and three goalies who appeared in at least nine games.
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The club announced Tuesday that it signed Thompson to a seven-year contract worth $50 million, retaining the 6-foot-7 forward through the 2028-29 season.
According to sources, the Sabres presented Luukkonen’s camp with multiple contract structures since talks began in July. Finally, both sides came to an agreement that ensures Luukkonen will be in Buffalo for training camp this month. He won't participate in the team's Prospects Challenge but will be one of Buffalo's goalies during Don Granato's second camp as coach.
This is a prove-it contract for Luukkonen. Luukkonen has totaled an impressive .913 save percentage in 13 appearances with the Sabres across the past two seasons, including a mark of .917 in nine outings last season.
Injuries have prevented Luukkonen from ascending to a full-time NHL job. Despite debuting with Rochester in the spring of 2019, he’s appeared in only 60 games with the Amerks because of injuries and disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. He underwent hip surgery in 2019 after a season in which he was named the Ontario Hockey League's Most Valuable Player and led Finland to a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Luukkonen was in position to earn an NHL roster spot in training camp last fall, but he lost the job in Buffalo to Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski. Luukkonen has been inconsistent when competing in the chaotic American Hockey League, yet he has shined when playing behind better defensive play. Luukkonen was in line to lead the Amerks in the Calder Cup Playoffs last spring until he suffered what proved to be a season-ending injury in the regular-season finale against Utica.
Twice, Luukkonen had NHL auditions sidetracked by minor lower-body injuries, the first of which occurred in the spring of 2021. Last season, he was recalled to the NHL when the Sabres lost Anderson to injury and Tokarski to a long bout with Covid-19 side effects. Luukkonen proved to be NHL-ready while playing behind a struggling, shorthanded Sabres lineup and helped the club earn five of a possible six points in games against Washington, Winnipeg and Minnesota.
Luukkonen, though, suffered a lower-body injury against Tampa Bay on Jan. 11 and didn’t appear in another NHL game the rest of the season. The injuries caused the Sabres to aggressively pursue a starting goalie this summer.
The Sabres’ plan for Luukkonen this season became clear when the team signed Anderson, now 41, to a one-year contract. Anderson’s inability to carry a starter’s workload meant another experienced NHL goalie was needed. General Manager Kevyn Adams signed Malcolm Subban to work in tandem with Luukkonen in Rochester, an ideal goalie partner and dressing-room fit, and Eric Comrie was added to compete for the starting job in Buffalo.
Comrie’s arrival doesn’t close the door on Luukkonen altogether. Comrie had a remarkable .920 save percentage in 19 games with the struggling Winnipeg Jets last season, but he’s appeared in only 28 games in the NHL and struggled with inconsistency prior to 2021-22. There are also injury concerns with Anderson, who dealt with neck and hip ailments last season. Comrie joined the Sabres on a two-year deal as a bridge option to buy time until Luukkonen, Devon Levi or, less likely, Erik Portillo emerge as a franchise goalie.
Levi and Portillo will play another season in the NCAA, giving Luukkonen a head start on the long-term competition in the crease. With the contract complete, he’ll be determined to prove that he’s ready for the spotlight in Buffalo.
“He’s been very good; he’s a tremendous prospect,” Rochester coach Seth Appert said of Luukkonen recently on ESPN Rochester. “We have a ton of belief in him. But at the same point in time, he needs to have a healthy season. He needs to play 50 games. The position of goaltender is very difficult and the beauty of the goaltending position is the more games you play, the better you get. For us, we want to see Upie be a healthy goaltender, have a great year, play 40-50 games, whether that’s all in Rochester or a combination of Rochester and Buffalo.”
Lindgren on the move
Defenseman Mats Lindgren, whom the Sabres drafted in the fourth round in July, was traded Monday from the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers to the Red Deer Rebels. Lindgren, 18, totaled five goals and 44 points in 68 games last season.
“I don’t like to make comparisons, but when I’ve watched (Lindgren) play, he reminds me of someone who used to play in our league, Shea Theodore,” said Red Deer General Manager Brett Sutter, referring to the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman. “He will boost our back end, give us some more offense.”
