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Photo of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

#1 · Goalie · Buffalo Sabres

Born Mar 9, 1999 in Espoo, FIN (age 27) · 6'5", 223 lb · Catches left · Drafted 54th overall in 2017 by BUF (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2026-27. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL · 3 GP, 0.898 Arturs Silovs PIT · 3 GP, 0.859 Brandon Bussi CAR · 3 GP, 0.851 Carter Hart VGK · 3 GP, 0.890 Devon Levi EDM · 3 GP, 0.863

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.

020402020-21: 4 games420-212021-22: 9 games921-222022-23: 33 games3322-232023-24: 54 games5423-242024-25: 55 games5524-252025-26: 35 games3525-262026-27: 3 games326-27

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
2020-21 BUF 4 1300 149 135 14 3.88 0.906 $778K
2021-22 BUF 9 2520 277 254 23 2.74 0.917 $778K
2022-23 BUF 33 171140 1054 940 115 3.61 0.892 $838K
2023-24 BUF 54 272245 1470 1338 132 2.57 0.910 $838K
2024-25 BUF 55 242452 1490 1321 169 3.20 0.887 $4.75M
2025-26 BUF 35 22931 930 846 85 2.52 0.910 $4.75M
2026-27 BUF 3 1200 55 43 12 4.02 0.782 $4.75M
7 seasons Career 193 9476188 5425 4877 550 2.98 0.899

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2025-26 BUF 6 3300 137 120 17 3.18 0.876
1 season Playoffs 6 3300 137 120 17 3.18 0.876

2026-27 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
3 3 1200 55 43 12 4.02 0.782

Contract

$4.75MCap hitends in 2029, then UFA
$749KCap dollars per goal above replacement6.3 goals above replacement, projected
$2.6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.1MValueworth 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. The season is still being played, so each rating is projected over the whole season: the games played so far, plus the games left at the rate of the last three seasons and this one. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 64 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Jul 24, 2024, as a new contract: 5 years and $23.75M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2028-29, with 2 seasons 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
2024-25 $4.75M $2.75M $2M $4.75M
2025-26 $4.75M $4.75M $0 $4.75M
2026-27 $4.75M $4.75M $0 $4.75M M-NTC
2027-28 $4.75M $4.75M $0 $4.75M M-NTC
2028-29 $4.75M $4.75M $0 $4.75M M-NTC

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 24, 2024 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2024-25 to 2028-29 5 $23.75M $4.75M
Aug 31, 2022 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2022-23 to 2023-24 2 $1.675M $838K
Jun 14, 2018 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2019-20 to 2021-22 signed for 2018-19, slid 3 $2.825M $778K

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 2026-27 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.

2026-27 analytics

Rating, projected over the full season

2026-27 is still being played, so these are a projection of his whole season, not a count so far: what he has done in 3 games (-4.3 goals above replacement), plus the 45 more he is taken to play, going by how much of his team's games he has played before, at a rate set by his last three seasons and this one. The more he plays, the more this season counts, and by the last game it is simply his season.

+6.3Goals above replacement40th of 64 goalies
+1.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-6.8Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 64 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.

-1001020302020-212021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

-5.0Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
7.0Expected goals againstfrom 90 unblocked attempts
12Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.782Save %0.872 expected from his shots
Goals saved -1.67 above expected per 60 minutes1st
Shot difficulty 7.8% chance per attempt faced1stA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 0 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

0510Allowed 12Expected 7.0

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
Oct 8, 2026 vs DAL L 0-4 L 18 14 4 0.778 59:54
Oct 3, 2026 vs CHI W 4-3 W 15 12 3 0.800 60:00
Oct 1, 2026 @ CBJ L 3-6 L 22 17 5 0.773 59:08