20230109 Luukkonen

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said the team is taking its roster situation day by day when it comes its three goaltenders, reiterating the organization's belief in Craig Anderson, Eric Comrie, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The Sabres loaned Luukkonen to Rochester prior to their game against Philadelphia on Monday to make room for Comrie, who was activated from injured reserve. Adams said the plan is still for Luukkonen to play games for the Sabres moving forward.
"These are good problems," Adams said. "There's a lot of things in this job that are challenging, but this is great. We have three guys now that are healthy, that we believe in. We really like where UPL's game is right now, the way he's progressed and developing and the games he's played.
"… The key on the UPL part is we really like where he's at and we want to see him keep getting reps and minutes here."

Luukkonen is waivers exempt, which provides flexibility for the Sabres to send him to and from Rochester on days that Anderson or Comrie is scheduled to start.
With the activation of Comrie on Monday, Buffalo's 23-man roster consisted of two goaltenders (Anderson and Comrie), 14 forwards, and seven defensemen. That list does not include Henri Jokiharju, who is on injured reserve but nearing activation.
Adams did not rule out carrying all three goaltenders on the roster at once.
"We'll figure out a way each day to kind of see what the day brings," Adams said. "But I think it is realistic. I don't want to look too far ahead. This is going to be a daily kind of roster management discussion."
The Sabres signed Comrie to a two-year contract during the summer to partner with Anderson, having targeted the 27-year-old as a player ready to take a step in his career. Comrie spent last season backing up Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg but posted a .920 save percentage in 19 games.
Comrie played 11 games for the Sabres, including a 46-save outing in Edmonton, before sustaining a lower-body injury in Ottawa on November 16. He has since played three games on a rehab stint with Rochester.
"We have all the confidence in the world in Eric," Adams said. "… There were some games he was really good early. We were in a tough spot there with some of what we were going through in our roster through a stretch of those games. But we believe in him.
"We really think that he's everything we thought we were going to get when we signed him in terms of how he's integrated into the team and the locker room and the culture of what he does every day, and his work ethic is off the charts. I'm excited for him to kind of get to his game and watch him."
The Sabres recalled Luukkonen following the injury to Comrie and watched him grow more and more confident with each passing game. He's won six consecutive starts, posting a .919 save percentage in that span. He exceeded 35 saves in four of those games.
"We really like where UPL's game is right now, the way he's progressed and developing and the games he's played," Adams said. "Tough buildings, tough teams. He looks like he's got a calmness to him and there's a confidence that our group has playing in front of him. So, that's exciting."
Anderson, meanwhile, has remained a vocal leader for the Sabres as well as a consistent presence in goal. He's 7-5-1 in 14 appearances with a .923 save percentage.
"The biggest takeaway is, we're excited because we have three goaltenders right now that we know we believe in and the team believes in," Adams said.