The Buffalo Sabres once again are in the midst of a letdown of a season. They’re currently in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 11-13-4 record, and they’ve lost four of their past six games. Buffalo is now about to play Game 2 of a five-game west coast road trip, and if they can’t make any headway in the standings when they take on the lowly Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, the Sabres’ Stanley Cup playoff hopes are going to be all but snuffed out.

But there could be some help on the horizon if Sabres GM Kevyn Adams plays his trade cards right. Because if there’s one thing Buffalo has more than enough of right now, it’s something that’s highly-prized in other NHL markets – and that’s goaltending.

As it stands right now, the Sabres have three NHL-capable netminders: starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, veteran Alex Lyon and youngster Colten Ellis. At a time when some NHL teams don’t have even a single reliable goaltending option, Adams should be able to not only find a taker for one of his goalies, but also to drum up a healthy return for them on the trade market. 

From this writer’s perspective, Buffalo’s best trade chip is Luukkonen. The 26-year-old’s individual numbers – while not indicative of an above-average performance at a .895 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average – aren’t horrendous on an otherwise terrible Sabres team. And he’s signed to reasonable money ($4.75-million per season). The real stumbling point is that Luukkonen is signed through the 2028-29 season. But Adams has to get something for Luukkonen, and that probably means making a move well in advance of the March 6 trade deadline.

We say that because if he waits too long to cash in on Luukkonen, Adams risks the trade market drying up. So, from our perspective, if Buffalo finishes the season with these same three goalies, it will be an opportunity lost. The Sabres have some solid depth at the most crucial position there is, and they need to convert one of their assets to help them in other areas.

Adams has to recognize a trade partner or two for Luukkonen sometime soon and see if he can’t stir up a robust market for him. Because this is not a player Adams absolutely has to trade. Luukkonen is a valuable, younger player who is cost-controlled for the foreseeable future, and for better or worse, you can’t say that about many goalies in the league. Luukkonen may indeed benefit from playing in front of a defensively-sound set of forwards and defensemen, so giving him away would be a fireable offense.

Grading The Sabres At The One-Third Mark Of The Season: The ForwardsWe're handing out grades to the Sabres at the one-third point of the season, and in this file, we're grading Buffalo's forwards. And as reflects the Sabres' season, Buffalo's grade for its forwards is disappointing one.

A Luukkonen trade isn’t imminent, and who knows – maybe there’s a road to him staying in Buffalo. But in a season where the Sabres are once again playing their way out of Stanley Cup playoff contention, significant trades are going to be coming. And a Luukkonen trade would signify that Adams is open for business, so long as the price is right.

With Ellis and AHLer Devon Levi, the Sabres project to have a solid tandem for the next decade or so. And let’s be real here – Buffalo isn’t where they are in the standings right now because Luukkonen goaltended them there. He’s put in decent enough work, and in the right situation, he could challenge his career-best full-season SP average of .910. 

Grading The Sabres At The One-Third Mark Of The Season: The GoaliesIn our ongoing series, we're grading the Sabres' season at each position. And in this file, we're grading Buffalo's netminders.

Thus, Adams has to find a way to convert Luukkonen into some sort of notable asset. When NHL-capable goalies are hard to come by, having many of them should be a benefit to you by trading them for help in other areas. And for us, that goalie trade should be one that sends Luukkonen out of Western New York to a team that’s in need of him.