Ellis Has Opportunity To Take A Step With Sabres

 The Buffalo Sabres are set to run it back in goal to begin the 2026-2027 National Hockey League season. 

The club will be looking to the trio who helped secure an Atlantic Division title and come within one goal of reaching the Eastern Conference Final in the postseason. Ukko-Pekka-Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis will once again be called upon to win games in a season that will be very much a show me campaign for the Sabres. 

Buffalo needs to prove that a miraculous mid-season run to the top of the standings was legitimate. The fast-approaching season presents an outstanding opportunity for Colten Ellis to take a step forward. 

The 25-year-old netminder performed well in sixteen appearances with the Sabres last season, delivering key victories that helped his team rescue its season. 

All three Buffalo goaltenders dealt with injury issues in 2025-26, which allowed the threesome to pay dividends in a tightly compressed schedule. Both Luukkonen and Lyon wore down at times in the regular season and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Are The Sabres Still Interested In Hellebuyck? 

Multiple league insiders linked the Sabres to trade talks involving Winnipeg Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck. 

When a deal did not come to fruition this summer at the draft, the Sabres goaltending focus returned to what worked very well during the season only to see Buffalo move away from the three-netminder system in the playoffs. 

A soft series-clinching overtime goal scored by Montreal’s Alex Newhook against Luukkonen in the Atlantic Division final cost the Sabres that berth in the final four and brought the questions regarding Luukkonen’s ceiling to the forefront once again. 

The 27-year-old veteran has yet to prove he can be a night in, night out starter in the NHL. Exploring the possibility of a move between the pipes signals a make-or-break season ahead for Luukkonen. If UPL should get off to a slow start this fall, the door could become open for Ellis to assume a larger role. Lyon is in the final year of his current deal, which could spell a pivot in net going forward for the Sabres. 

The Sabres organization clearly likes what they have seen in Ellis since claiming the Nova Scotia native off waivers from the St. Louis Blues last October. The acquisition of Ellis spelled the end for prospect Devon Levi in the Buffalo system and demonstrated the Sabres belief in Ellis and what the future could hold for him. 

There are many questions surrounding this edition of the Sabres. 

A goal-scoring gap was created with the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, and an even greater focus will be on the defense and the goaltenders keeping the puck out of the Buffalo net. The lingering netminding question will provide a chance for Ellis to build on the promise he has shown. 

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