2:50 p.m.: Buffalo used Levi’s roster spot to recall winger Isak Rosén from Rochester. The 2021 first-round pick will likely head back to the AHL when Thompson is ready to return, but it’s still a nice reward for the 21-year-old, who leads Rochester with 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in 14 games this season.
10:28 a.m.: The Sabres will reassign goaltender Devon Levi to AHL Rochester, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters Monday, including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.
While the demotion is made primarily with Levi’s development in mind, it also likely prefaces a couple of corresponding moves. Starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be back in the crease against the Kings on Wednesday after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. At the same time, star center Tage Thompson will likely come off injured reserve to fill Levi’s vacated roster spot after sitting out a few contests with a lower-body injury.
Before Luukkonen’s injury last week, Levi had sat as the backup for 11 out of 15 games. That’s not the best recipe for success for a 22-year-old netminder with plenty of room to grow, which Ruff articulated as the primary reason for his return to Rochester.
It could also rightfully be considered a performance-based demotion. The 2020 seventh-round pick has gone five games without recording a .900 SV% and has won only two of his six starts, posting a .870 SV% and 3.95 GAA with a career-worst -5.7 GSAA on the year.
Buffalo’s top young netminder was excellent in the AHL last season while splitting time evenly between the NHL and the minors. In 26 games, he posted a 2.42 GAA, .927 SV% and a 16-6-4 record. It was his first full professional campaign after two seasons at Northeastern, where he compiled a sparkling .942 SV% in 66 appearances, winning the Mike Richter Award for the NCAA’s top goalie in 2022 and 2023.
While those are promising numbers, it’s clear Levi needs more reps and more frequent playing time before establishing himself as a fixture on the NHL roster. He’s arguably been the worst goaltender in the league in 2024-25, relative to the shot quality he’s faced. Among the 58 goalies with at least five games, Levi’s -1.23 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes are the lowest, per MoneyPuck.
Levi’s demotion leaves veteran James Reimer as the Sabres’ No. 2 option behind Luukkonen for the foreseeable future. The 36-year-old signed a one-year, $1MM contract with Buffalo in free agency over the summer but was selected off waivers by the Ducks the day before the regular season started.
Reimer suited up twice for Anaheim while John Gibson was on the shelf due to an emergency appendectomy surgery, conceding nine goals on 66 shots for a poor .864 SV%. Nonetheless, the Sabres wanted him back and re-claimed him off waivers last week after Gibson returned to play. The Manitoba native spent last season with the Red Wings, recording an 11-8-2 record, .904 SV%, 3.11 GAA, and two shutouts in 20 starts and five relief appearances.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Goalie has and will always be an issue. It’s further put in the spotlight because the defense in front of the goalie is subpar as well. Levi should be THANKFUL he’s going to Rochester. Until these defensemen can figure out how to actually play defense and not be pushed around like rag dolls, any weaknesses these goalies have will be bright!
Then why aren’t UPL’s stats equally horrible?
He’s been playing behind bad D for long enough to have made adjustments.
That’s gotta be one of the best apologists lines I’ve ever heard.