Devon Levi's nightmare debut shows Sabres made right choice

When the Buffalo Sabres traded Devon Levi this summer, very few questioned the move. It was evident that everyone needed a change, and, well, the Oilers were desperate for some sort of goaltending solution.

But after the final horn on Thursday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, it was evident the Sabres made the right choice.

The Oilers won a wild 9-7 game against the Canucks, with Levi surrendering seven goals on 22 shots. That was good enough for a .682 save percentage and a nearly blown 8-2 lead.

The game seemed over at the 8:23 mark of the second period when Edmonton scored a shorthanded goal to open up a six-goal lead.

The Canucks, meanwhile, had 10 shots over two periods. And then the wheels came off for Levi. A late goal in the second led to five unanswered goals, bringing the score to 8-6. The Oilers added one more to make it 9-6, but the Canucks added one more to make the game much closer than it really was.

Yes, Edmonton survived the game. But this was a shootout against the worst team in the NHL. While it’s just one game, it’s unfortunately part of a broader trend that everyone saw in Buffalo. Levi just isn’t an NHL-caliber goalie. In fact, the third-round pick the Sabres got for the 24-year-old now looks like absolute larceny given what Levi has done thus far in Edmonton.

Devon Levi struggled massively behind porous Oilers defense against projected NHL cellar dweller

Sadly for Levi, he went from a solid defensive team in Buffalo to one that doesn’t know the meaning of the word in Edmonton. The Oilers are notorious for having a porous defense, often leaving their goalies out to dry.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl don’t backcheck, and top defenseman Evan Bouchard isn’t a defenseman at all. If anything, the Oilers should just turn him into a forward instead.

With that sort of team in front of him, all of Levi’s weaknesses were exposed.

Here’s a good example:

The awful Oilers penalty kill gave Elias Pettersson enough time and space to tee up the one-timer. Levi struggled to read the play and get across in time to make the save.

All right, let’s give Pettersson some credit for a wicked shot. How about this one:

Levi lost sight of the puck, bobbled it, and then had it trickle past him for the goal.

Ultimately, this isn’t about pouring on the poor guy. It’s about showing that the Sabres, if there was ever any doubt about trading Levi, have to feel satisfied with the move.

And Sabres fans, well, you can’t help but feel bad about a former player struggling with a new team, especially since the goaltender was well-liked in Western New York.

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