Alex Lyon

Alexander Augustus Lyon (born December 9, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played collegiately for the Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey team, competing in the ECAC.

Early life Lyon was born on December 9, 1992, in Baudette, Minnesota. For the first seven years of his life, Lyon and his older sister Sam grew up on an island in Lake of the Woods, and he attended school for one year at a small schoolhouse. His parents were fishing lodge managers on the island, while their children took a rowboat to school. The Lyons moved back to mainland Minnesota in 2000, at which point Lyon began playing hockey. Of the 25 male students in Lyon's graduating class at Lake of the Woods High School, 15 played ice hockey for the varsity team, including Lyon. During his senior year in 2009–10, Lyon served as the goaltender for all 26 Lake of the Woods high school games. In those 26 games, he posted a .948 save percentage (SV%).

Playing career

NCAA While at Yale University, Lyon was named Ivy League co-Rookie of the Year in 2014. After leading the nation in save percentage, shutouts and goals-against average, Lyon was presented with the Ken Dryden Award (given to the best goalie in the ECAC) his sophomore season, while receiving First-Team AHCA/CCM All-America, First-Team All-ECAC, First-Team All-New England as well as First-Team All-Ivy League honors. He was also the winner of the J. Murray Murdoch Award as Yale's Most Valuable Player.

Individual awards kept rolling in for Lyon after the 2015–16 season, as he repeated as Ken Dryden Award recipient and also landed spots on the All-ECAC First Team, the All-Ivy League First Team and the All-New England First Team for the second straight year.

Professional

Philadelphia Flyers Lyon opted to forgo his senior season at Yale and signed an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL) on April 5, 2016.

Lyon made his first NHL start February 1, 2018 in a 4–3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. On February 18, 2018, Lyon recorded his first NHL win with the Flyers after replacing an injured Michal Neuvirth in the second period. Lyon saved 25 of 26 shots by the New York Rangers en route to a 7–4 victory.

On May 9, 2018, in a playoff win over the Charlotte Checkers, Lyon saved 94 of 95 shots faced in a record-setting 146 minutes 48 seconds, making it the longest game in AHL history. The game went to the fifth overtime, with the Phantoms winning 2–1.

On November 5, 2018, Lyon was recalled to Philadelphia following an injury to Michal Neuvirth. Lyon was again recalled to the Flyers on November 16.

On January 15, 2020, the Flyers recalled Lyon to the NHL following an injury to Carter Hart. On February 1, 2020, Lyon recorded his first NHL win since March 22, 2018.

Carolina Hurricanes

Following the 2020–21 season, his fifth within the Philadelphia Flyers organization, Lyon left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 30, 2021. Lyon played the majority of the season with the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves, only tallying two games with the Hurricanes. With the Wolves, Lyon finished the regular season with 18 wins and 3 shutouts, earning him the Hap Holmes Memorial Award for the AHL goaltender with the lowest goals against average. He tallied two additional shutouts in the playoffs, including a 28-save shutout in the final game to win the Calder Cup.

Florida Panthers On July 13, 2022, Lyon signed a two-way free agent contract with the Florida Panthers. Lyon posting a 7–2 record with a 2.00 GAA over his last nine starts for the Charlotte Checkers. With Panthers starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky ill and regular backup goaltender Spencer Knight participating in the NHL's player assistance program for undisclosed issues, Lyon was called up to the NHL. He proceeded to lead the team on a lengthy winning streak that brought the team back into contention for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, earning the nickname "the Lyon King." Such was his success that he retained the starting role even after Bobrovsky returned, with the latter praising him, saying he "basically saved our season." Lyon started the opening games of the Panthers' first round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. However, with the Bruins leading the Panthers two games to one following Game 3, coach Paul Maurice opted to return Bobrovsky to the net, stating that he felt Lyon was fatigued. Bobrovsky proceeded to lead the team to victory against the Bruins, and onward through the second and third rounds of the playoffs to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Lyon served as backup goaltender. He took the ice against in Game 2 of the Finals, relieving Bobrovsky after he allowed four goals.

Detroit Red Wings On July 1, 2023, Lyon signed a two-year, $1.8 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. On November 27, 2024, Lyon sustained a lower-body injury, was placed on injured reserve. During the 2024–25 season, he posted a 14–9–1 record with a 2.81 GAA and .896 save percentage in 30 games.

Buffalo Sabres On July 1, 2025, Lyon, a free agent, was signed to a two-year, $3 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres. Following a January 29, 2026, win against the Los Angeles Kings, Lyon set the Sabres records for consecutive wins, at 10, breaking Gerry Desjardins' record set in 1976. During the 2026 playoffs Lyon took over goaltending duties from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the third period of the opening round of the playoffs, in his five starts Lyon allowed only seven goals and had a 1.30 goals-against average with a .950 save percentage in the postseason.

International play

Lyon won bronze with the United States national team at the 2015 World Championship, seeing action in one game during the tournament.

Personal life

Along with his play, Lyon has become known for his humor. His running gag known as "Lyon Eyes"—an intense stare at the camera during off-ice footage—has become a favorite antic of fans. After completing a 28-save shutout to give the Chicago Wolves the Calder Cup in 2022, Lyon was suspended for two games as the AHL's online stream captured him flipping double birds as celebratory photos were being taken.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2010–11 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 1 0 1 0 60 5 0 5.00 .848 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Omaha Lancers USHL 48 28 15 3 2,762 127 4 2.76 .910 4 1 3 237 13 0 3.30 .910 2012–13 Omaha Lancers USHL 50 26 21 1 2,894 128 1 2.65 .916 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Yale Bulldogs ECAC 30 14 11 5 1,764 71 3 2.41 .918 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Yale Bulldogs ECAC 26 15 7 4 1,517 41 5 1.62 .938 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Yale Bulldogs ECAC 26 18 4 4 1,589 40 4 1.51 .941 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 47 27 14 0 2,718 124 4 2.74 .912 2 0 1 115 4 0 2.07 .882 2017–18 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 27 16 8 2 1,548 71 0 2.75 .913 11 6 5 758 25 0 1.98 .944 2017–18 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 4 2 1 480 22 0 2.75 .905 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 39 19 17 3 2,321 106 1 2.74 .916 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 1 0 71 6 0 5.07 .806 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 32 11 14 5 1,763 79 1 2.69 .913 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 3 1 1 0 135 8 0 3.55 .890 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 4 2 1 0 194 11 0 3.40 .874 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 6 1 3 1 325 18 0 3.33 .893 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Chicago Wolves AHL 30 18 7 3 1,665 60 3 2.16 .912 12 9 3 737 25 2 2.03 .923 2021–22 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 2 1 0 1 123 6 0 2.93 .908 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Charlotte Checkers AHL 23 13 9 1 1,381 56 1 2.43 .910 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 15 9 4 2 894 43 1 2.89 .914 4 1 2 199 12 0 3.63 .888 2023–24 Detroit Red Wings NHL 44 21 18 5 2,498 127 2 3.05 .904 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 Detroit Red Wings NHL 30 14 9 1 1,560 73 1 2.81 .896 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Buffalo Sabres NHL 36 20 10 4 1,992 92 3 2.77 .907 10 4 3 463 20 0 2.59 .904 NHL totals 149 71 48 15 8,077 395 7 2.93 .903 14 5 5 662 32 0 2.90 .899

International Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2024 United States WC 5th 2 1 1 0 82 3 0 2.20 .940Senior totals 2 1 1 0 82 3 0 2.20 .940

Awards and honors Award Year RefCollege Ivy League Rookie of the Year 2013–14 All-Ivy League First Team Honorable Mention 2013–14 All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2014–15 All-Ivy League First Team 2015–16 AHL Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award 2021–22