The Buffalo Sabres, shortly after the start of free agency, gave Devon Levi the fresh start he was looking for. They would trade Levi and a seventh-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2028 third-round pick.
While the Sabres have three goalies on their NHL roster, they needed to find a goalie to replace him in Rochester. It is not common for teams to carry three, but they can't send any down to the AHL without having to go through waivers, so they needed to add another goalie. They found that answer with the recent signing of Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
Villalta was a third-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2017 NHL Draft and has made two NHL starts in his career. He made his NHL debut with Arizona during the 2023-24 season and made one more start the following season after the franchise moved to Utah.
He has extensive AHL experience with 235 games and a record of 123-83-20-10 and a goals against average of 2.93 and a save percentage of .903.
Buffalo Sabres add veteran experience to compete with their other goalie prospects
The Sabres were smart to bring in a veteran AHL goalie, as they lost a great deal of experience with the departure of Devon Levi. However, Villalta being the starter is far from guaranteed, as he will be competing with two former Sabres' draft picks.
At this point, he is expected to compete with Topias Leinonen, who was a second-round pick in 2022 by the Sabres, and Scott Ratzlaff, who was a fifth-round pick one year later in 2023. These two made their AHL debut last season and combined for 21 appearances.
The depth the Sabres have at the position is one of the best in the league and the addition of Villalta just strengthens that position going into next season.
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