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Alex Lyon

#34 · Goalie · Buffalo Sabres

Born Dec 9, 1992 in Baudette, Minnesota, USA (age 33) · 6'1", 199 lb · Catches left

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2025-26. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Anton Forsberg LAK · 36 GP, 0.910 Jake Allen NJD · 37 GP, 0.904 Frederik Andersen CAR · 35 GP, 0.874 Jesper Wallstedt MIN · 35 GP, 0.916 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF · 35 GP, 0.910

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0102030402017-18: 11 games1117-182018-19: 2 games218-192019-20: 3 games319-202020-21: 6 games620-212021-22: 2 games221-222022-23: 15 games1522-232023-24: 44 games4423-242024-25: 30 games3024-252025-26: 36 games3625-26

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2017-18 PHI 11 4210 232 210 22 2.75 0.905 $874K
2018-19 PHI 2 0100 31 25 6 5.08 0.806 $750K
2019-20 PHI 3 1100 73 65 8 3.55 0.890 $750K
2020-21 PHI 6 1310 169 151 18 3.33 0.893 $700K
2021-22 CAR 2 1010 65 59 6 2.93 0.908 $750K
2022-23 FLA 15 9421 488 446 43 2.89 0.914 $750K
2023-24 DET 44 211852 1325 1198 127 3.05 0.904 $900K
2024-25 DET 30 14911 705 632 73 2.81 0.896 $900K
2025-26 BUF 36 201043 979 888 92 2.77 0.907 $1.5M
9 seasons Career 149 7148157 4067 3674 395 2.93 0.903

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2022-23 FLA 4 1200 107 95 12 3.63 0.888
2025-26 BUF 10 4300 209 189 20 2.59 0.904
2 seasons Playoffs 14 5500 316 284 32 2.90 0.899

2025-26 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
36 34 201043 979 888 92 2.77 0.907

Contract

$1.5MCap hitends in 2027
$78KCap dollars per goal above replacement19.2 goals above replacement
$5.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$4.3MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 66 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Jul 1, 2025, as a new contract: 2 years and $3M, beginning in 2025-26. It runs through 2026-27, with 1 season left after this one.

Season Cap hit
2025-26 $1.5M
2026-27 $1.5M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2025 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2025-26 to 2026-27 2 $3M $1.5M
Jul 1, 2023 Detroit Red Wings New contract 2023-24 to 2024-25 2 $1.8M $900K
Jul 13, 2022 Florida Panthers New contract 2022-23 to 2022-23 1 $750K $750K
Jul 30, 2021 Carolina Hurricanes New contract 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $750K $750K
Sep 25, 2020 Philadelphia Flyers Extension 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $700K $700K
Jul 7, 2018 Philadelphia Flyers New contract 2018-19 to 2019-20 2 $1.5M $750K
Jul 15, 2017 Philadelphia Flyers New contract 2017-18 to 2017-18 1 $874K $874K
Apr 5, 2016 Philadelphia Flyers Entry-level 2015-16 to 2016-17 2 $1.85M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2025-26 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2025-26 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+19.2Goals above replacement18th of 66 goalies
+3.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+8.9Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 66 ranked goalies: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

-5051015202017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. What these numbers mean

+8.9Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
100.9Expected goals againstfrom 1,506 unblocked attempts
92Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.906Save %0.897 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 68 goalies who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved +0.27 above expected per 60 minutes78th
Shot difficulty 6.7% chance per attempt faced38thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 68 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100Game 10Game 20Game 30Expected 100.9Allowed 92

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Apr 4, 2026 @ WSH L 2-6 L 5 2 3 0.400 05:52
Mar 27, 2026 vs DET L 2-5 L 19 15 4 0.789 57:57
Mar 22, 2026 @ ANA L 5-6 (OT) OTL 33 27 6 0.818 61:17
Mar 19, 2026 @ SJS W 5-0 W, SO 23 23 0 1.000 60:00
Mar 14, 2026 vs TOR W 3-2 (SO) W 18 16 2 0.889 65:00
Mar 10, 2026 vs SJS W 6-3 W 20 17 3 0.850 60:00
Mar 7, 2026 vs NSH W 3-2 W 25 23 2 0.920 60:00
Mar 3, 2026 vs VGK W 3-2 W 29 27 2 0.931 60:00
Feb 27, 2026 @ FLA W 3-2 W 29 28 2 0.966 60:00
Feb 5, 2026 vs PIT L 2-5 L 31 27 4 0.871 56:51
Feb 2, 2026 @ FLA W 5-3 W 42 39 3 0.929 59:55
Jan 31, 2026 vs MTL L 2-4 L 30 27 3 0.900 57:43
Jan 29, 2026 vs LAK W 4-1 W 38 37 1 0.974 60:00
Jan 24, 2026 @ NYI W 5-0 W, SO 26 26 0 1.000 60:00
Jan 20, 2026 @ NSH W 5-3 W 34 31 3 0.912 60:00
Dec 29, 2025 @ STL W 4-2 W 18 16 2 0.889 59:25
Dec 23, 2025 @ OTT W 3-2 (OT) W 26 24 2 0.923 60:31
Dec 20, 2025 vs NYI W 3-2 (SO) W 34 32 2 0.941 64:55
Dec 18, 2025 vs PHI W 5-3 W 27 24 3 0.889 59:52
Dec 14, 2025 @ SEA W 3-1 W 24 23 1 0.958 60:00
Dec 11, 2025 @ VAN W 3-2 W 32 30 2 0.938 59:56
Dec 9, 2025 @ EDM W 4-3 (OT) W 24 21 3 0.875 41:32
Dec 8, 2025 @ CGY L 4-7 4 4 0 1.000 17:29
Nov 28, 2025 vs NJD L 0-5 L 23 18 5 0.783 60:00
Nov 13, 2025 @ COL L 3-6 3 1 2 0.333 06:10
Nov 8, 2025 @ CAR L 3-6 L 33 29 4 0.879 58:47
Nov 4, 2025 vs UTA L 1-2 (OT) OTL 35 33 2 0.943 60:47
Oct 30, 2025 @ BOS L 3-4 (OT) OTL 22 18 4 0.818 61:33
Oct 28, 2025 vs CBJ L 3-4 (OT) OTL 39 35 4 0.897 62:53
Oct 24, 2025 vs TOR W 5-3 W 34 31 3 0.912 60:00
Oct 20, 2025 @ MTL L 2-4 L 31 28 3 0.903 57:52
Oct 18, 2025 vs FLA W 3-0 W, SO 32 32 0 1.000 59:48
Oct 15, 2025 vs OTT W 8-4 W 37 33 4 0.892 60:00
Oct 13, 2025 vs COL L 1-3 L 37 34 3 0.919 58:20
Oct 11, 2025 @ BOS L 1-3 L 30 28 2 0.933 57:45
Oct 9, 2025 vs NYR L 0-4 L 32 29 3 0.906 59:51