Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has gone from being the Buffalo Sabres’ third goalie at the start of the 2023-24 season to their potential long-term solution in net.
The 25-year-old Finn agreed to a five-year, $23.75 million contract on Wednesday.
The deal comes as Luukkonen, who was a restricted free agent, was scheduled to go to salary arbitration in the next two weeks.
This contract provides long-term financial security to a player whose future has been uncertain in Buffalo for the past two years.
For the Sabres, this deal has the potential to solve a problem at a position that has been unstable since Ryan Miller was traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 2013-14 season.
Luukkonen started last season as the Sabres’ third goalie and has steadily moved up the ranks ahead of rookie Devon Levi and Eric Comrie.
Taking over as No. 1 goalie on Dec. 30, he went on a 17-9-1 streak in which he allowed 52 goals and recorded four shutouts.
Luukkonen finished the season with a 27-22-4 record, becoming the first Sabres goalie to win 27 games and record five shutouts since Miller had 31 wins and six shutouts in 2011-12.
He finished tied for eighth in the National Hockey League (NHL) with a 2.57 goals-against average and tied for second in shutouts.
Luukkonen’s performance was seen as one of the few bright spots for a team that extended its playoff-defying streak to 13, the longest of its kind in the NHL.
Head coach Don Granato was fired at the end of the campaign. He was replaced by Lindy Ruff, who is back behind the team’s bench.
Luukkonen had spent the previous three seasons bouncing between the NHL and the AHL, going 20-19-6 in the Bettman league.
The six-foot-five athlete will be one of two goalies for the Sabres next season, with Levi and veteran James Reimer expected to battle for the backup spot.