Buffalo Sabres: Will Levi, Johnson, and Portillo sign with the franchise?
The Buffalo Sabres have three high-end prospects still unsigned as of August 2022. Will they eventually sign and find a role within the organization?
The Buffalo Sabres already have a deep prospect pool when you look at the players that have signed. Isak Rosen, Aleksandr Kisakov, Josh Bloom, Olivier Nadeau, and Filip Cederqvist are just a few of the new faces who decided to start their respective careers within the organization.
But there are three other prospects that the Sabres faithful are inquiring about, and rightfully so, as they are three high-end players who would add to the already-rich pool of signed prospects. Goaltenders Devon Levi and Erik Portillo, and defenseman Ryan Johnson all attended development camp, but they all left camp without a contract.
Will they end up signing? In all honesty, my belief is that one of the three players is likely to sign, another one probably won’t sign, and a third will sign if they believe they will walk into a favorable situation.
Will we see Devon Levi, Ryan Johnson, and Erik Portillo sign with the Buffalo Sabres? The player most likely to sign is Devon Levi.
I can see Devon Levi signing with the Buffalo Sabres the second his 2022-23 season ends at Northeastern, perhaps with a national championship. The reason Levi is the likeliest of the three to sign stems from his words at development camp, in which he wanted to return to Northeastern to not just repeat, but to improve upon last season.
It is a tall task for Levi, given his 0.952 save percentage and 1.54 GAA. But, it is a decision I respect 100% because all over the North American professional sports landscape, you see college kids jump to the professional level (the AHL in Levi’s case) after posting just one good season in college.
That said, Levi made the wise decision to return to school. I don’t know if he can repeat or even improve upon his success. But I do believe he will at least come close to what he accomplished last season.
Erik Portillo
I will give Portillo credit: He said and did all the right things at Buffalo Sabres development camp. And he did so without playing in his own equipment for the greater part. Someone not likely to sign could have just turned and walked away, but Portillo stuck around and handled the situation professionally.
Per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, both the organization and those within the NHL itself do not believe Portillo will sign with the Sabres. But at the same time, you wouldn’t know it if you saw Portillo playing at development camp.
He stopped nearly everything in his path, and he was neck and neck with Levi over the four-day period. There wasn’t a single aspect about Portillo’s game or his attitude that raised a red flag, and that should be recognized.
While few believe he will sign at this point, he showed class, work ethic, and a desire to impress the coaching staff. So if he signs, I will gladly welcome him aboard.
Ryan Johnson
Johnson is in quite a precarious situation. And I know some pundits would be okay with seeing him leave because he is an LHD and there has been a heavy insistence on acquiring RHD’s. Listen, the RHD/LHD concept is one of the most overrated in hockey and it’s something I want to touch on in a future article.
Ryan Johnson is a solid defenseman who could be a tremendous asset for the Buffalo Sabres if he signs. Whether he is an RHD or LHD is irrelevant, especially considering the Sabres are likely to pair two LHD on the first pairing this season. It’s one of many reasons I don’t even bother to check if a player is an LHD or an RHD.
Right now, I am leaning toward Johnson signing. He praised the Sabres at his presser during development camp. Yes, he may conclude the organization has one too many LHD and look elsewhere. Or, he could consider the fact that the Sabres have two LHD on the first pairing and conclude handedness is not as relevant as some make it out to be.
Must Read. Two Sabres among the top goaltenders under 25. light
Or else Ramsus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson wouldn’t be a projected top pairing. If Johnson takes that into consideration, then his likelihood of signing with the Sabres just skyrocketed.
Article Source: Sabres Mailbag: Why Patrick Kane isn’t a fit for Buffalo … not now, at least by Lance Lysowski