Sabres Sign Topias Leinonen To Entry-Level Contract
The Sabres announced they’ve signed goaltending prospect Topias Leinonen to his entry-level contract. It’s a three-year deal beginning in the 2025-26 season, but he’ll report to AHL Rochester for the remainder of this year on a tryout. Per PuckPedia, his contract carries a cap hit of $886,667 and breaks down as follows:
2025-26: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $80K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary
2026-27: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $80K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary
2027-28: $825K base salary, $95K signing bonuses, $30K performance bonuses, $82.5K minors salary
Leinonen jumps across the pond three years after Buffalo made him the 41st overall selection of the 2022 draft. The 6’5″ Finn has had an extremely tumultuous run in European professional leagues since being drafted but had a much-needed rebound season in 2024-25. The 21-year-old left the ranks of his home country to play for Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league. He responded with a .910 SV%, 2.31 GAA, four shutouts, and a 13-10-0 record in 25 regular-season appearances. Those were his best numbers at any level by a significant margin since his draft year, which he spent primarily in the Finnish U20 circuit. Leinonen also ended the year with a .929 SV% in six postseason games for Mora, but the club failed to gain promotion to the Swedish Hockey League for the first time since 2019.
Leinonen spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons across three different leagues in Finland, suiting up for JYP in the top-level Liiga as well as seeing time for their U20 club and second-tier affiliate, KeuPa HT. He failed to record a .900 SV% at any level in both campaigns.
Despite that adversity, his development is back on track – earning him an ELC and likely a regular role with Rochester next season. He still ranks as the No. 12 prospect in Buffalo’s system, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, second among goalies behind No. 3 Devon Levi. Levi, a pending restricted free agent, seems poised to re-join Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on the NHL roster next season after excelling with a .916 SV%, 2.27 GAA, and five shutouts in 34 games for Rochester. Leinonen becomes the fourth goalie signed or under team control for next year, joining Luukkonen, Levi, and 20-year-old Scott Ratzlaff, who’ll be turning pro after four junior seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
Goalie Notes: Forsberg, Leinonen, Schwab
Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg is geared up for the upcoming training camp, telling The Athletic’s Ian Mendes he’s fully recovered from a double MCL tear sustained during a goalmouth collision in February.
“I’ve been back to 100 percent for a long time,” Forsberg told Mendes. “I would have been back last year if we made the playoffs.” He’ll be entering next season as part of what Ottawa hopes is a more fortified goalie tandem, with Joonas Korpisalo replacing Cam Talbot as Forsberg’s partner in the crease. Forsberg has given Ottawa some solid play since once again breaking out as a full-time NHLer in Canada’s capital, accumulating a 33-28-6 record, .912 save percentage, 2.98 goals-against average, and three shutouts over the past two seasons. He says he can return to that level of play, as he told Mendes he doesn’t feel any lingering effects from the major knee injuries – a remarkable statement given they occurred just six months ago. If he can maintain the solid numbers and challenge Korpisalo for the lion’s share of the starts, Ottawa does have a true shot at breaking through into the postseason for the first time since losing in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.
Some other goalie-related items of interest:
- Buffalo Sabres goalie prospect Topias Leinonen will miss the beginning of 2023-24 due to injury, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski relays. Buffalo selected the massive 6-foot-5, 234-pound netminder in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, but he struggled last season with just a .885 save percentage in the Finnish junior circuit. He’ll miss around the first two months of the Liiga season, although he’s expected to take on a backup role for JYP once he returns.
- The Arizona Coyotes have confirmed the last of their remaining extensions for their assistant coaches, signing goalie coach Corey Schwab to a multi-year deal. Schwab is one of the Coyotes’ longest-tenured organizational members at this point, serving with the team as a coach in some capacity since 2015. While the team hasn’t had much success during his tenure, goaltending has been far from an issue – names like Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Antti Raanta, and Karel Vejmelka have all churned out solid performances under Schwab’s tutelage.