Report: Sabres to sign free agent Alex Lyon

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Buffalo Sabres are set to sign free agent goaltender Alex Lyon.

The terms of the deal are yet to be reported. Lyon’s coming off his two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings, where he had a cap hit of $900,000.

Lyon would head to Buffalo, where he’ll be able to get a fresh start after a couple of chaotic years with the Red Wings. He moved to Hockeytown after being a key piece in helping the Florida Panthers sneak into the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, when he arrived, it was a pretty full crease with Ville Husso and James Reimer. It led to Lyon starting the 2023-24 campaign third on the depth chart.

Yet, thanks to lackluster play and injuries to the other two, Lyon stepped back into the spotlight, going on a heater late in the season, pushing the Red Wings close to their first postseason berth since 2016. Ultimately, the team came up short.

Unfortunately, Lyon wasn’t able to find the same level of success during the 2024-25 season. In 30 games, the Minnesota native posted a 14-9-1 record with a 2.81 goals-against average, a .896 save percentage and one shutout. With Cam Talbot signed on for one more year and general manager Steve Yzerman going out and getting John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks, it was pretty clear Lyon’s tenure in Detroit was done.

With Lyon potentially going to Buffalo, one could predict that he could either provide a backup or a 1B role behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who’s looking to have a bounce-back performance in the coming year. It’s part of a goaltending system with the Sabres that includes Mike Richter Award winner Devon Levi, who spent the majority of last season with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

In 113 career NHL appearances, Lyon has a record of 51-38-11, with a 2.99 GAA, a .902 SV% and four shutouts. He made three starts during the 2023 playoffs with the Panthers, going 1-2 before Sergei Bobrovsky led the team to its first of three straight runs to the Stanley Cup Final.