One of the best goaltending prospects is headed back to the NHL. The Buffalo Sabres announced they’ve recalled goaltending prospect Devon Levi and have placed forward Ryan McLeod on injured reserve.
Levi’s recall would appear long overdue at face value. He’s been exceptional in the AHL this season with the Rochester Americans amassing a 12-3-2 record in 17 games with a .913 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average. As promising as his efforts in the AHL have been, this production is largely par for the course for Levi.
In his third season in the Sabres organization, Levi has managed a 28-9-6 record in 43 total games in AHL Rochester with a .922 SV% and 2.38 GAA. Unfortunately, his splits with Buffalo haven’t been nearly as promising with a 17-16-2 record in 35 career starts with a .896 SV% and 3.24 GAA. Given his production at the NHL level up to this point, it’s hard to argue Levi should even be considered an upgrade on backup netminder James Reimer.
Still, at 23 years old, he’s exceptionally young for a goaltending prospect, and there’s no reason to think his AHL production isn’t an eventual sign of things to come in the NHL. Regardless of Levi’s play with the Sabres, Buffalo’s loss of McLeod for at least the next three games is the most disappointing part of this transaction.
The Sabres didn’t provide many specifics to McLeod’s injury but it’s reasonable to think it was suffered in the team’s most recent game against the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday night. There’s a chance McLeod will miss the next four games for Buffalo given they’re embarking on a Pacific Division road trip on Monday.
Factoring in the high cost of acquiring McLeod (Matthew Savoie, ninth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft) from the Edmonton Oilers this past summer, his six goals and 18 points through the first 41 games of the season likely came as a disappointment to the Sabres.
Despite the poor offensive start to the year, he’s quieted much of the disappointment in the last week. He’s been one of Buffalo’s top players over the past week scoring four goals and six points, including a hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes, with a +4 rating in only four games.
McLeod’s recent uptick in scoring makes this injured reserve placement all the more unpleasant to the Sabres. They’ve played better of late with a 6-4-1 record in their last 11 but will have to look to other forwards to replace McLeod’s production.