Buffalo Sabers 2023-24 Player Report Card: Devon Levi – The Hockey Writers – Buffalo Sabers

He was a hot topic of conversation early in the season, and many had pegged him as the undisputed starting goaltender after his late-season heroics in 2022-23, but with the emergence of Ukko Pekka Luukkonen as the starter , Devon Levi was put more forward. on the back burner as the hype around him died down. Despite this, he still found himself developing quite well and putting up good numbers in the NHL, and even better numbers in the American Hockey League (AHL). Despite his time split between the majors and minors, he was clearly the number two goaltender in the Sabers system, as Eric Comrie lacked the trust of former head coach Don Granato and Levi still saw plenty of action in the NHL. By the end of the season, he showed that despite his flashes of genius, he still had room to grow and was actually doing so.

Levi was good when it counted

During his time in the NHL with the Sabres, Levi had a few games where he struggled to keep pucks out of the net. He looked tired and downtrodden as the team around him fell apart and there was nothing he could do to stop it. However, other nights he looked like the unstoppable brick wall that many fans had grown fond of during his early career debut. After winning the starting role coming out of training camp in October, he became less of a starter and more of a supporter, as his presence on the team pushed Luukkonen to get better every night. For several games, they split their time in front of the net and fought to see which one of them could do better, and in the end, Luukkonen came out on top, and that was completely normal. Levi is still young and there have been some glaring issues in his games, ranging from some weak scoring against blockers to some overcommitment on other scoring.

Given that the competition between goaltenders is going so well, it’s no wonder Levi’s development in the AHL went so well when he was sent down. His numbers were great, his attitude was even better as he had no claim to his place in the NHL, and most of all, he handled the transition between the two leagues with grace. On the contrary, his time as a starter for the Rochester Americans only helped him when it came time to start some games for the Sabres. At the end of it all, he finished the season with a 10-8-2 record, a 3.10 goals-against average (GAA) and a .899 save percentage (SV%) in the NHL, as well as a record of 16-6-4. , with a GAA of 2.42 and an SV% of 0.927 during the AHL regular season, while compiling a record of 2-3 in the playoffs while managing to have a GAA of 2.57 and an SV% % of 0.923 during this period.

His development has unfolded exactly as Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams should have wanted, and it has prepared him to step up and become a full-time backup, or even a starting-style goaltender. 1B in the NHL during the upcoming 2024-25 season. . Levi’s numbers and abilities are above what can be perfected in the minors at present, and being in the NHL in the coming years will be instrumental in his development.

Devon Levi Ranking

Goalie scoring is a little different since the offensive element of the game is not part of the equation. To establish the goalkeeper rating system, they will be rated on the criteria of their positioning, their ability to make saves, their reliability, their consistency and, ultimately, the confidence they give when on a given night to win the match they are starting. Levi had his ups and downs with different parts of this criteria as the season went on, but in the end he fit in very well. That being said, his notes would look like this:

• Positioning: B
• Saves: B
• Reliability: B-
• Consistency: B-
• Confidence: B

Levi’s ability to win games this season doesn’t really rest on his shoulders as much as one might think. The team in front of him played so poorly most nights that it was a miracle his numbers ended up being as decent as they were. His 10 wins on the season were well below what I predicted at the start of the season, but it’s still a good starting point for his career, and he can absolutely build on that number next season. There’s almost no reason, beyond a complete collapse, for Levi to post poor numbers next season, and with his development on track, those marks should improve considerably as well.

Levi’s future with the Sabers

With Luukkonen a very strong candidate for the starting goalie job, the question comes to mind whether Levi is still the goalie of the future in Buffalo. Will he still overtake Luukkonen and win the starting job when one of them ends up being traded to another team, or will they both end up as one of the best starting tandems in the NHL , like how the Boston Bruins have Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark? That’s the huge question on every Sabers fan’s mind, and it’s especially important since they’ll eventually have to pay them big contracts.

Related – Sabers 2023-24 Player Report Cards: JJ Peterka

Ultimately, my mentality regarding Levi is simply this. If his greatest contribution to the Sabers was pushing Lukkonen so hard that he became a great starting goaltender, and then doing nothing but being a decent goaltender for the rest of his career, that would suit me. I don’t think that’s how things are going to go, but if Levi ends up being a good backup goalie, then he’s still exactly what this team needs, which is someone reliable between the posts every night. If Luukkonen isn’t the long-term starter in Buffalo, Levi will be, but if Luukonen is, then Levi won’t be, and he’ll likely be moved in a few years to get a better opportunity. Even with the potential to have a great tandem, it’s difficult to retain two top goaltenders at a good price, and unless Levi and Luukkonen are willing to take salary cuts, one of them will have to possibly being shown the door.