- Buffalo signs goaltender Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract
- Villalta steps in as Rochester’s starter after the Sabres dealt Devon Levi
- Read below for what the AHL All-Star brings to the Amerks crease
The Buffalo Sabres found their new starter in Rochester.
Buffalo signed goaltender Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract, handing the Rochester Americans a true No. 1 in net. The financial terms were not disclosed.
The signing fills a hole the Sabres opened earlier this week. Buffalo shipped Devon Levi to Edmonton, which left the Amerks without a proven option in goal.
Villalta gives them one. The 27-year-old was an AHL All-Star in 2023-24 and has 235 games of experience at the level.
He spent the last three seasons with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he carried a heavy workload as the club’s top goalie. His NHL resume is thin at three games, but that is not why Buffalo brought him in.
He will not crack Buffalo’s NHL crease. The Sabres already carry Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis on the big club.
Rochester is where Villalta earns his starts. He slots in ahead of Topias Leinonen and Scott Ratzlaff, two young goalies who have barely touched the pro game, and one of them settles in as his backup.
A third-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Villalta has spent years in the minors waiting for a real runway. The Amerks just handed him one.
