The Buffalo Sabres continue to be linked to the idea of a Connor Hellebuyck trade to potentially upgrade their goalie position.
Even as that happens, other teams seem to be interested in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the Sabres’ current No. 1, as a possible improvement of their own.
Recent reporting from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman indicates that at least one team in the league is looking into UPL as a trade target.
UPL Trade Rumors
Friedman’s report, which came from his 32 Thoughts Podcast, mentions that the New York Rangers seem to be looking into Luukkonen.
The key note from Friedman is that the Rangers’ goalie scout, Scott Clemenson, was at the Sabres-Canadiens game in Montreal on Tuesday.
“I assume to watch Luukkonen,” Friedman said of the scout’s presence.
It makes sense that the Rangers would be looking into various goalie options. They recently learned that their star netminder, Igor Shesterkin, is out for the season.
New York is already with Joonas Korpisalo for about another month due to injury, so they’re down to Dylan Garand and some AHL options to plug the gap in the meantime.
It seems if the Rangers were going to make a deal, they’d want to do it fast. It doesn’t do them any good to wait a few months just to find out that their current goaltending isn’t good enough.
So this will be one to listen for in the days and weeks ahead. If the Rangers like what they see in Luukkonen, maybe he could be on the move.
Hellebuyck Factor
Complicating all of this is that for a time, Luukkonen was suggested as a potential key piece in a Sabres trade with the Winnipeg Jets for Connor Hellebuyck.
The Jets may not want UPL anymore as they seem to have solved the goalie position a bit even without Hellebuyck, but the other side of that trade still may matter to Buffalo.
Would they trade away Luukkonen without a ready-made replacement like Hellebuyck?
The Rangers may not actually get to pull off a deal for UPL unless the Sabres can first get Hellebuyck.
That simply is a logical corollary, because Buffalo wants to make the playoffs and probably makes the path harder if they first deal away their top goalie without bringing in a new No. 1 from somewhere else.
It’s definitely a lot of goalie trade drama in the early stages of this NHL season, for sure.
Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Targeted by East Rival for Trade