One of the big questions for the Buffalo Sabres at this point in the offseason is what they do with the goalie position. For most of the season, the team utilized three goalies in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colton Ellis.
That rotation shrunk to only Luukkonen and Lyon in the playoffs, but with neither being consistent, it could force the Sabres to go back to the drawing board a bit. While it is uncommon for teams to use three goalies as much as the Sabres did, the biggest surprise was that Devon Levi was not one of those goalies.
After the Sabres traded for Levi back in 2021, the hype immediately picked up and only grew when he made the jump from the NCAA to the NHL at the end of the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, from that point, he has not been able to remain at that NHL level and has spent the entire season with the Rochester Americans.
Buffalo Sabres' division rival might try to swing a trade for Devon Levi
During the end-of-season press conference, Sabres' general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was asked about Devon Levi. He made it clear that he believes he can be an NHL goalie by saying, "I think he is an NHL-caliber talent that has the potential to be a good goalie in this league for a long time."
This is not Kekalainen's first time as a general manager, so he knows that the last thing he wants to do is jeopardize the value he might get in return in a trade. The fact that Levi doesn't have a clear path to the NHL at this point makes it feel more than likely that he will be traded this summer.
One team that might be interested in Levi is the Ottawa Senators, according to Jeff Marek. Last week on the Coming in Hot podcast, Marek said this about Levi:
"I am pretty sure the Ottawa Senators checked in with Buffalo on Devon Levi and it's over with the Buffalo Sabres and Devon Levi."
The Senators would be an interesting trade partner for the Sabres because they are a division rival that finished the season really well. In a division that was already competitive with the Lightning and Canadiens, along with the expected bounce back for the Florida Panthers, the last thing the Sabres would want is to make a trip back to the playoffs even tougher.
If the Sabres are actually motivated to move Devon Levi, there likely would be more than a few teams interested in the goalie, as that is a tough position to find top talent. However, the last thing the Sabres can afford to do is not trade him if they don't believe he is ready to be a permanent part of the Sabres roster next season.
During the press conference, Kekalainen noted that Levi would have to go through waivers next season. That creates a challenge in itself because the Sabres can't afford to lose him for nothing if they bring him up and he struggles.
The Sabres probably wouldn't want to trade Levi to the Senators but if they give the best offer, or the only offer, then they may not have any choice. It will be one of the big storylines this summer for the Sabres and one that fans should watch closely.
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