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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 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jeremy Swayman BOS · 44 GP, 0.916 Lukas Dostal ANA · 44 GP, 0.902 Mackenzie Blackwood SJS · 44 GP, 0.899 Filip Gustavsson MIN · 45 GP, 0.899 John Gibson ANA · 46 GP, 0.888

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

2023-24 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
44 43 211852 1325 1198 127 3.05 0.904

Contract

$900KCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$64KCap dollars per goal above replacement14.1 goals above replacement
$3.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$2.4MValueworth 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 65 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Detroit Red Wings on Jul 1, 2023, as a new contract: 2 years and $1.8M, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2024-25, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2023-24 $900K $900K $0 $900K
2024-25 $900K $900K $0 $900K

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 2023-24 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.

2023-24 analytics

Rating

+14.1Goals above replacement27th of 65 goalies
+2.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+1.0Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 65 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.

-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

+1.0Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
128.0Expected goals againstfrom 1,910 unblocked attempts
127Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.904Save %0.903 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 70 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 +0.02 above expected per 60 minutes47th
Shot difficulty 6.7% chance per attempt faced50thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 70 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Expected 128.0Allowed 127

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 15, 2024 vs MTL W 5-4 (OT) W 21 17 4 0.810 63:32
Apr 11, 2024 @ PIT L 5-6 (OT) OTL 27 21 6 0.778 61:40
Apr 9, 2024 vs WSH L 1-2 L 23 21 2 0.913 56:39
Apr 7, 2024 vs BUF W 3-1 W 38 37 1 0.974 60:00
Apr 5, 2024 vs NYR L 3-4 L 38 34 4 0.895 57:28
Apr 1, 2024 @ TBL W 4-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 59:45
Mar 30, 2024 @ FLA L 2-3 (SO) OTL 38 36 2 0.947 65:00
Mar 26, 2024 @ WSH L 3-4 (OT) OTL 30 26 4 0.867 61:55
Mar 23, 2024 @ NSH L 0-1 L 32 31 1 0.969 57:59
Mar 17, 2024 @ PIT L 3-6 L 37 32 5 0.865 56:28
Mar 14, 2024 vs ARI L 1-4 L 26 23 3 0.885 59:29
Mar 12, 2024 @ BUF L 3-7 L 13 9 4 0.692 15:29
Mar 8, 2024 @ ARI L 0-4 L 24 20 4 0.833 60:00
Mar 6, 2024 @ COL L 2-7 L 40 35 5 0.875 40:00
Mar 2, 2024 vs FLA L 0-4 L 37 33 4 0.892 60:00
Feb 29, 2024 vs NYI L 3-5 L 26 22 4 0.846 58:58
Feb 27, 2024 vs WSH W 8-3 W 21 18 3 0.857 59:06
Feb 24, 2024 vs STL W 6-1 W 23 22 1 0.957 59:56
Feb 22, 2024 vs COL W 2-1 (OT) W 31 30 1 0.968 63:42
Feb 19, 2024 @ SEA W 4-3 (OT) W 41 38 3 0.927 61:07
Feb 15, 2024 @ VAN L 1-4 L 21 17 4 0.810 56:05
Feb 13, 2024 @ EDM L 4-8 L 29 22 7 0.759 51:12
Feb 10, 2024 vs VAN W 4-3 (OT) W 31 28 3 0.903 60:23
Jan 31, 2024 vs OTT L 2-3 (OT) OTL 25 22 3 0.880 62:05
Jan 27, 2024 vs VGK W 5-2 W 30 28 2 0.933 59:44
Jan 25, 2024 vs PHI W 3-0 W, SO 30 30 0 1.000 59:34
Jan 23, 2024 vs DAL L 4-5 L 32 27 5 0.844 40:00
Jan 21, 2024 vs TBL W 2-1 W 28 27 1 0.964 60:00
Jan 19, 2024 @ CAR L 2-4 L 29 26 3 0.897 59:39
Jan 17, 2024 @ FLA W 3-2 (OT) W 34 32 2 0.941 60:52
Jan 13, 2024 vs LAK W 5-3 W 36 33 3 0.917 59:53
Jan 11, 2024 vs EDM L 2-3 (OT) OTL 47 44 3 0.936 61:20
Jan 7, 2024 @ ANA W 3-2 W 31 29 2 0.935 60:00
Jan 4, 2024 @ LAK W 4-3 (SO) W 43 40 3 0.930 65:00
Jan 2, 2024 @ SJS W 5-3 W 27 24 3 0.889 60:00
Dec 31, 2023 vs BOS L 3-5 L 22 19 3 0.864 57:48
Dec 29, 2023 vs NSH W 5-4 (OT) W 37 33 4 0.892 62:13
Dec 16, 2023 @ PHI L 0-1 L 16 15 1 0.938 26:50
Dec 9, 2023 vs OTT L 1-5 L 25 21 4 0.840 40:00
Dec 5, 2023 @ BUF W 5-3 W 32 29 3 0.906 60:00
Nov 30, 2023 vs CHI W 5-1 W 35 34 1 0.971 60:00
Nov 26, 2023 vs MIN W 4-1 W 38 37 1 0.974 60:00
Nov 22, 2023 vs NJD W 4-0 W, SO 16 16 0 1.000 59:32
Nov 17, 2023 vs TOR L 2-3 L 29 26 3 0.897 58:28