Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen broke out in style for the Buffalo Sabers last season. The Espoo, Finland native has solidified himself as a starter for the club, posting a 27-22-4 record, a 2.57 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and a record-tying five losses in 54 appearances. of your career. His excellent play, especially during the second half of the season, was the main reason the Sabers remained within striking distance of a playoff spot at the end of the campaign.
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Luukkonen was richly rewarded for his rookie season, securing a five-year contract worth $23.75 million ($4.75 million AAV) earlier this offseason. With this being a long-term deal, it’s clear the Sabers have enormous confidence in Luukkonen’s future.
With this move, the Sabers have locked up one of their young, promising goaltenders. While they spent a decent amount of cap space to sign Luukkonen long-term, this undoubtedly has the potential to be a complete steal for the Sabers if he continues to trend in the right direction.
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Luukkonen showed in 2024-25 that he can be a legitimate starter. However, considering that he is still only 25 years old, he still has more time to become an even better goalkeeper. Keep in mind that although he has made appearances at the NHL level in each of the last four seasons, he only has 100 career games under his belt. As a result, he was mainly in the NHL for only two seasons.
Overall, if UPL maintains its strong form in 2023-24 from here, its new contract will already be a good one. However, if he reaches a new level from here, this contract could quickly become a bargain for Buffalo.
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