The Buffalo Sabres appeared to have well-stocked shelves in goal, as the signing of veteran Alex Lyon in July added a third goalie with NHL experience alongside Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi, but on Thursday the club added another netminder to the fold, as the Sabres signed Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year, one way deal for $825,000.
The 29-year-old Bulgarian is an eight-year veteran, signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rangers out of the Finnish SM-Liiga in 2017 and made his NHL debut with New York in his first season in North America. Georgiev served as the backup for Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin on Broadway for five seasons before being dealt to Colorado in the summer of 2022.
Georgiev was acquired by the Avalanche to be their primary starter and in his first season with Colorado made a career-high 62 starts, and set marks for wins (40), goals-against (2.51), save percentage (.919) and shutouts (6), but the following season he was overworked by head coach Jared Bednar early in the season (starting 33 games in the first half), leading to plummeting numbers and a loss of confidence from the Avs organization.
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After a woeful start of the season (8-7-0, 3.38 GAA, .874 save %), Colorado dispatched Georgiev in December to San Jose in a deal for Mackenzie Blackwood, where he served as the workhorse for a rebuilding Sharks club.
The signing raised questions regarding the Sabres goaltending situation. Lyon was signed to a two-year contract, presumably to be the backup for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Youngster Devon Levi (who also signed a two-year extension in July) has played mostly in AHL Rochester since being sent down in January 2024, when Luukkonen became the primary starter.
After a strong second half, the Sabres signed the big Finn to a five-year contract extension, but last season he regressed significantly, going .500 (24-24-5), with a 3.20 GAA and sub .900 save %, which led to head coach Lindy Ruff using backup James Reimer heavily in the last month. There were no indications at the time that Luukkonen’s performance or lack of action was related to an injury.
In Friday’s Buffalo News, Rachel Lenzi reported from an NHL source that the signing of Georgiev was precipitated by an unspecified injury to Luukkonen. The injury was described as a “tweak” and no length of time was given for a potential return for Luukkonen. The 26-year-old has an extensive injury history, with hip surgery in 2021, and ankle surgery at the end of the 2022-23 season, but he has not had anything of a serious or lengthy nature the last two years.
After the signing of Lyon, it was expected that Levi was destined to start the season with the Amerks, sharing duties with first-year pros Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen, but Luukkonen’s injury status and the addition of Georgiev have clouded the Sabres situation between the pipes.
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