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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 2019-20. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Anton Forsberg CAR · 3 GP, 0.897 Calvin Pickard DET · 3 GP, 0.797 Eric Comrie DET · 3 GP, 0.864 Alex Nedeljkovic CAR · 4 GP, 0.887 Adam Werner COL · 2 GP, 0.914

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

2019-20 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
3 2 1100 73 65 8 3.55 0.890

Contract

$750KCap hitends in 2020, then UFA

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. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show.

The contract

Signed by the Philadelphia Flyers on Jul 7, 2018, as a new contract: 2 years and $1.5M, beginning in 2018-19. It runs through 2019-20, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2018-19 $750K $750K $0 $750K
2019-20 $750K $750K $0 $750K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

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 2019-20 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.

2019-20 analytics

Rating

-0.6Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.3Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

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. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-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. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones. What these numbers mean

-1.3Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
6.7Expected goals againstfrom 97 unblocked attempts
8Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.890Save %0.908 expected from his shots
Goals saved -0.57 above expected per 60 minutes3rd
Shot difficulty 6.9% chance per attempt faced80thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 59 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

02468Allowed 8Expected 6.7

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. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Feb 6, 2020 vs NJD L 0-5 2 1 1 0.500 15:19
Feb 1, 2020 vs COL W 6-3 W 31 28 3 0.903 60:00
Jan 16, 2020 vs MTL L 1-4 L 40 36 4 0.900 60:00