Sabres’ Alexandar Georgiev placed on unconditional waivers

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
.@AmerksHockey goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
While nothing is official at this point in time, it’s expected that Georgiev will go to Russia and sign in the KHL if he clears waivers and terminates his contract.
The Sabres had signed Georgiev to a one-year, $825,000 contract during training camp after they learned that starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was dealing with a long-term injury, as they were looking for more depth in the crease in Luukkonen’s absence. As for Georgiev, he was coming off of the worst season of his NHL career and was hoping that this would be his chance to bounce back with a consistent gig.
However, it didn’t quite work out that way. The Sabres already had a couple other NHL options upon signing Georgiev, as they had Alex Lyon, who was on a two-year contract with a $1.5 million cap hit and was expected to be the backup goaltender behind Luukkonen; along with Devon Levi, who isn’t really a prospect anymore but is considered to have high potential to be a top goaltender in the coming years. The Sabres also claimed Colten Ellis off of waivers from the St. Louis Blues at the end of training camp, who then became the backup behind Lyon while Luukkonen was hurt.
The Sabres sudden increase of depth in the crease left no room for Georgiev on the team, even in the AHL. He only ended up playing two games with Buffalo’s minor league affiliate, the Rochester Americans, where he had an 0-2-0 record and allowed seven goals on 67 shots for an .896 save percentage. The Americans have otherwise been leaning on Levi and Topias Leinonen for their starts, and while both goalies have also struggled so far this season, they are younger and have much higher upside than Georgiev at this stage of their careers.
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