Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have added to their goaltending room by signing free agent Alex Lyon to a two-year contract worth $3 million.
The memory that pops out at me the most with Lyon comes from April of 2023 when the Florida Panthers made the playoffs by one point over the Sabres.
The game was in the second-to-last week of the season in Sunrise, and Lyon had been on a great streak, lifting the Panthers into contention. Lyon stood on his head in the game, facing 40 Buffalo shots and leading Florida to a 2-1 win over Devon Levi, who made 34 saves.
Had the Sabres won that game, Buffalo would’ve broken their playoff drought and the Panthers wouldn’t have started their streak of three-straight Stanley Cup Final appearances.
That season, Lyon played a career-high 15 games for the Panthers, going 9-4-2 with a 2.82 goals-against average and a sparkling .914 save percentage.
Then on July 1, 2023, Lyon signed a free agent deal with the Detroit Red Wings and saw the most action of his career.
In his first season, Lyon played 44 games in Detroit, where he went 21-18-5 with a 3.05 goals-against average and a respectable .904 save percentage. He was in net for 30 games backing up Cam Talbot this past year, where he went 14-9-1 with a 2.81 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage.
Overall, Lyon has played 113 NHL games with the Red Wings, Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers, going 51-38-11 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.
The options in goal this free agency period were thin, so signing the 32-year-old is their best option.
The Flyers signed him in April of 2016 after playing three seasons of collegiate hockey at Yale University.
I think Lyon is a solid backup for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and he's also a goalie that can take over if Luukkonen doesn’t get back to form.
That means the goaltending duo for the Rochester Americans this upcoming season will likely be Levi and Scott Ratzlaff or Topias Leinonen.