Edmonton Oilers linked to major trade offer for $23.75M Finnish Goaltender

This offseason the Sabres have signed two NHL calibre goaltenders: veteran Alex Lyon, and top prospect Devon Levi. Luukkonen appears to be the odd man out for Buffalo's long-term plans in the crease now.

Analysts at Heavy.com have taken a look at Luukkonen as an Oilers trade target, and proposed a hypothetical trade that would send the Finnish goalie to Edmonton in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Beau Akey, and a draft pick.

Now 26 years old, Luukkonen is coming off a very tough season with the Buffalo Sabres that saw him post a horrid .887 save percentage. He's also locked up for 4 more seasons at $4.75M, which carries significant risk given his results last year.

However, there's reason to believe Luukkonen can be much better than his brutal season last year. The Buffalo Sabres are in a sad state as a franchise which seems to wear on every player who passes through, leading to some poor defence that would be especially hard on a goalie.

In the 2023-24 season, Luukkonen was performing near the top of all NHL goalies by some player models. If he can get back to that level of play, his contract would actually be a steal.

Taking on Luukonen's cap hit may be tough for now, but Stuart Skinner is set to become a free agent next season and is reportedly commanding up to $6M in salary. It's very likely that in one more year, Luukkonen will be a cheaper goalie than Skinner.

Trading Skinner along with some extra assets in draft picks and prospects would make sense to acquire Luukkonen, a young goalie with a high ceiling that's locked up to an affordable contract in the next 4 years. The Oilers may be smart to take a bet on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in trade this season.