At this point, based on the reporting, it is a foregone conclusion that the Buffalo Sabres are going to trade Devon Levi. At one time, he was viewed as the future of the position, but after spending the entire season in Rochester and no clear path to being the starter next season, the Sabres are likely going to trade him this summer.
Even though Levi didn't earn a spot with the Sabres, he should still be viewed as an excellent prospect, and there are teams out there that would want to trade for him. In the AHL, Levi has played 120 games and has a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of .914.
The 24-year old has one year left on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season. This would give any team a chance to evaluate the player and determine if they want to commit to him long-term.
When looking around the league, these are three teams that would make sense to call the Buffalo Sabres about trading for Devon Levi.
Ottawa Senators
This first team shouldn't be much of a surprise, as it has already been speculated that the Ottawa Senators would be interested in Levi. Earlier in May, ESPN's Kevin Weekes tweeted that Levi was drawing interest from teams, including the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators are coming off a season where they made the playoffs but were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. They still have Linus Ullmark under contract for three more seasons but the Senators probably would like to bring in competition for that starting job. Right now, the only competition is Leevi Merilainen, if the Senators bring him back as he is a restricted free agent this summer.
This is probably the best spot for Levi as the Senators don't need to rely on him immediately to be the starter with Ullmark there. It gives him a chance to compete for the starting job and prove he can handle the workload.
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are one of the teams expected to be the most active this summer with several players who could be traded. This includes players like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Colton Parayko, and Jordan Binnington.
That last player is the one that the Sabres are going to watch closely and if the Blues move Binnington, they could be a logical landing spot for Devon Levi. Outside of Binnington, the Blues have only Joel Hofer under contract, but he is a restricted free agent after next season.
For a team rebuilding, adding a player like Devon Levi could be worth the risk, as the expectations aren't going to be high. He has a path to starting 40 games during the regular season by splitting with Hofer, and gives the Blues a chance to evaluate both goals before deciding which one, or both, they want to sign long-term.
Florida Panthers
The third team would be interesting, as it was the team that drafted Devon Levi in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Panthers would end up trading the rights to Levi to the Sabres as part of the Sam Reinhart trade.
However, now the Panthers have questions at the position with Sergei Bobrovsky set to be a free agent. They could certainly re-sign him or even trade for a veteran like Binnington as they look to bounce back after a down season.
In either situation, the Panthers could be looking for a young goalie to pair with the veterans and a player like Levi would make a lot of sense. They could sign Bobrovsky to a one or two-year deal and then trade for Levi to share the workload and keep Bobrovsky fresh, hopefully for a playoff run.
The goalie position is one of the toughest to fill, and there are plenty of teams that might explore upgrades at. However, for Devon Levi, there needs to be a team that has an established veteran or one that is willing to work through the growing pains as Levi makes the jump to the NHL. In that scenario, these three teams make the most sense and could be the right trade partners for the Buffalo Sabres.
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