The Buffalo Sabres can’t pin their early-season problems in net on Devon Levi.
That’s the uncomfortable truth behind Levi’s hot start with the Edmonton Oilers, where he is 6-1 and sitting tied for second in the league in wins. On the surface, it looks like Buffalo let a difference-maker slip away. But the numbers tell a different story.
Levi was shipped to Edmonton in the offseason after the Sabres determined they didn’t have room for him, with the move coming before he could hit restricted free agency after this season. He had been viewed as the goalie of the future after arriving in the Sam Reinhart trade, and his first NHL stretch in 2022-23 backed that up in a big way. He went 5-2 with a .904 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average after making the leap from Northeastern.
But the momentum didn’t last. Over his next 29 starts across two seasons, Levi couldn’t lock down a permanent job, posting a save percentage below .900 and a goals-against average above three. He spent all of last season in Rochester, and when Buffalo made its decision this summer, Edmonton became the trade partner.
What makes Levi’s early record misleading is the help he’s getting around him. In seven starts this season, the Oilers are averaging 4.57 goals per game for him, and five of those games have featured at least four goals of support. The Sabres, meanwhile, are giving Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen about 2.74 goals per game, with only two games in which Buffalo has scored four or more.
The shot totals are nearly identical, too. Luukkonen has faced 198 shots and Levi 194. Levi has allowed only five fewer goals, and his save percentage is only slightly better at .887 compared to Luukkonen’s .864.
There’s also the matter of Connor McDavid. He has 31 points through the first 10 games and broke the franchise record previously set by Wayne Gretzky in the 1984-85 season. That kind of firepower changes everything for a goalie.
None of that excuses Luukkonen’s start. It hasn’t been good enough. But the notion that Buffalo would suddenly be in a better spot if Levi were still in the crease just doesn’t line up with what’s happened so far.
In Other News...
Alex Tuch Just Twisted The Knife On A Sensitive Sabres Issue
Alex Tuch may be wearing a Washington Capitals sweater now, but he still had a few words for the Sabres after an uneven start to the 2026-27 season. Even with Buffalo hovering around .500 and stuck near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, the former Sabres forward sounded confident the team will eventually find its footing, which is the kind of comment that lands differently when it comes from someone who knows how closely the market still tracks every twist in this story.
Tuch also brought a little off-ice texture to the conversation when he was asked about the Sabres poker nights, pointing to Peyton Krebs as the bookkeeper. It was a small detail, but the sort of one that keeps a locker room conversation from sounding completely detached from the ice, especially for a Buffalo team still trying to turn a sluggish opening into something more stable. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Made Their Crease Problem Even Harder To Ignore
Buffalos search for a long-term answer in net just got a lot more complicated after Connor Hellebuyck landed with the New Jersey Devils in a deal that sent Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Alexander Command, Nick Bjugstad and two draft picks back to Winnipeg. The Sabres had the chance to stay in the mix, but they did not push their offer higher, leaving them to keep sorting through a goaltending picture that has already been unsettled by early issues at the position.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has not given Buffalo much reason to feel secure so far, and the organizations internal depth only adds to the concern. With Devon Levi no longer in the pipeline after his offseason move to Edmonton, the Sabres are staring at a crease situation with little immediate relief and not much obvious help coming soon. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Have A Bigger Problem Than Just Goaltending
The Sabres have shown enough in flashes to remind everyone why there is still some optimism around the roster, with a comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens followed by a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers underscoring just how uneven things have been. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken his share of the heat, and for good reason, but the larger issue is that Buffalo keeps putting too much stress on its own netminders by failing to clean up the spaces around the crease.
Buffalos defensive coverage has been too loose at times, especially in front of the net, where low- and medium-danger chances have turned into too many clean looks. The Sabres still have the talent to play better hockey than their recent results suggest, but until they start games sharper and give opponents fewer second-chance opportunities, goaltending will keep looking like the headline when it is really only part of the problem. [Read more 🡒]