The Buffalo Sabres announced Thursday they reached an agreement with restricted free agent Devon Levi on a two-year, $1.625 million contract extension. The goalie is expected to start the 2025-26 season as the No. 1 goaltender for the AHL's Rochester Americans.
Levi has faced immense expectations since he arrived to Buffalo as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Sam Reinhart to the Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers. Reinhart's success with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Cats has only put more pressure on the goalie's shoulders.
Although the former Northeastern University standout enjoyed some initial success with the Sabres, he struggled mightily in 32 appearances across the past two NHL seasons. That led him to spend a majority of last year with the Amerks, where he showed signs of progress.
Levi's track record as a prospect
Levi has established himself as a high-end goaltender at every level of non-NHL hockey. He posted a microscopic 1.47 goals against average and .941 save percentage for the CCHL's Carleton Place Canadians during the 2019-20 season. That led him to get selected by the Panthers in the seventh round of the 2020 draft.
The Quebec native then joined Northeastern, where he sat out his freshman season while recovering from a rib injury. He quickly emerged as one of the NCAA's best goalies upon his return to the ice.
Levi compiled a 1.90 GAA and .942 SV% in 66 games across two seasons with the Huskies. He won the Mike Richter Award as the best netminder in Division I hockey both years, and his career NCAA save percentage ranks third on the all-time list, per College Hockey News.
The Canadian has also played well for the Amerks in the AHL. He's backstopped Rochester to a 41-19-8-7 record with a 2.28 GAA and .922 SV% over the past two years. His playoff save percentage over that stretch (.916) is also a promising sign.
As mentioned, he'll likely open the new campaign as a member of the Americans after the Sabres signed Alex Lyon to serve as the chief backup to projected starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Goalie's uneven performance in the NHL
Levi made the jump straight from college hockey to the NHL at the end of the 2022-23 season. It was a rare opportunity, and he made the most of it. He went 5-2-0 with a 2.94 GAA and .905 SV% while trying to help the Sabres grab a playoff berth, a pursuit that ultimately fell one point short.
Although his initial success created hope he could quickly acclimate himself as a full-time NHL goalie, the past two seasons provided a dose of reality.
Levi has gone 12-15-2 with a 3.38 GAA and .892 SV% at the NHL level since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. Just 13 of his 29 starts over that period were quality starts, per Hockey Reference.
His underlying numbers tell a similar story. He ranks 56th out of 67 goalies who've played at least 1,500 minutes over the last two years in goals saved above average per 60 minutes (-0.31 GSAA/60), according to Natural Stat Trick.
That's likely a major reason why the Sabres signed Lyon as a veteran reserve rather than banking on Levi to make the permanent NHL jump this year.
What's the Sabres' best course of action?
In a perfect world, Levi will spend the entire season with the Amerks. Another campaign of 40-plus starts in the AHL followed by ideally leading Rochester on a deep playoff run would give Buffalo's front office the best chance to see whether it can bet on him succeeding in the NHL in 2026-27.
Whether that's how it'll actually play out is impossible to predict.
UPL is coming off a dreadful season as the Sabres' No. 1 goalie. His .887 SV% ranked 47th of 55 qualified goalies, and the eye test often painted a worse picture than even that lackluster ranking would suggest. He was downright terrible at times.
Buffalo's best stretch of hockey came when head coach Lindy Ruff started playing James Reimer more frequently. Reimer has physical limitations at the age of 37, however, which is probably why Buffalo opted for the younger Lyon (32) as the backup this season.
So, it's still possible the Sabres will call on Levi as a form of desperation if UPL's woes continue and Lyon isn't able to fill the void as the starter. Of course, injuries are always a factor and could create an opening in net for Buffalo, as well.
That said, the Sabres will hope UPL and Lyon can stay healthy and at least provide league-average goaltending as a tandem in 2025-26, so Levi can focus on his continued development in the AHL.