Oilers acquire goaltender Devon Levi from Sabres

Levi was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2020 draft, and spent the following three years with the NCAA’s Northeastern University, posting a 38-22-6 record, a .942 save percentage, and a 1.90 goals-against average. He never played for the Panthers organization, however, who traded him to Buffalo alongside a 2022 first-round pick in exchange for Sam Reinhart.

He turned pro after the 2022-23 NCAA season, appearing in seven games for the Sabres. In the years since, he’s bounced between the NHL and AHL, but spent the entire 2025-26 season with their minor-league affiliate, Rochester Americans, posting a 23-20-12 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.83 goals-against average. Oilers Now’s Bob Stauffer reported that Levi had “exceptional advanced analytics,” citing goals saved above average, over the last three AHL seasons with the Americans.

Over the last four seasons, he’s appeared in 120 AHL games, posting a 64-39-22 record, a .914 save percentage, and a 2.52 goals-against average, while in 39 NHL games, he’s had a 17-17-2 record, a .894 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average. The Sabres have had a logjam in the crease, often running a three-headed monster last season between Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and a 25-year-old Colten Ellis, leaving room for one of them to be traded.

Reports surfaced in recent days that the Oilers were doing “real research” on Levi during last weekend’s NHL draft, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported, but there was uncertainty as to whether those talks had continued.

Levi’s contract fits well in Edmonton, as he’s entering the second-year of a two-year deal carrying a $812,500 cap hit.

It’s likely to expect Levi to share the workload in Edmonton’s crease with Tristan Jarry after reports surfaced early Wednesday that the goaltender Connor Ingram was set to hit the free agent market.