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Czechia’s HC Dynamo Pardubice Signs Jakub Lauko

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HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga has signed forward Jakub Lauko to a three-year deal, the team announced today. Lauko wasn’t tendered by the Bruins in June, and after presumably not receiving any suitable NHL offers as an unrestricted free agent, he’ll be returning to his home country.

Lauko put up a career-high five goals and 11 points in 56 games in an injury-plagued campaign split between the Wild and Bruins last season, missing long stretches of the early going with Minnesota while dealing with a muscular lower-body issue. Lauko played in all 18 games for Boston after they re-acquired him from Minnesota at the deadline in the Justin Brazeau deal, finishing the year with five points and 50 hits while averaging 12:07 per game.

After making his NHL debut with Boston in 2022-23, four years after they drafted him in the third round of the 2018 draft, the Bruins moved him to the Wild last summer in exchange for veteran depth forward Vinni Lettieri. While Minnesota was hoping the young energy winger could flash a little more upside than he had in his first two years in Boston, he struggled to produce like everyone else the Wild tried in a fourth-line role. He had six points and a minus-five rating with 69 hits in 38 appearances for the Wild before getting shipped back to the B’s.

The Prague native now returns home to build on his previous Extraliga experience, which includes stints with Piráti Chomutov (2016-18) and HC Energie Karlovy Vary (2020-21). He has a 10-11–21 scoring line in 95 career Extraliga games, but he presumably hopes returning home helps him rediscover his offensive game. In his post-draft season, Lauko came to North America to play junior hockey and recorded 41 points in only 44 games for the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies en route to a Memorial Cup championship.

Entering his age-25 season, there’s still time for Lauko to put himself back on the NHL radar by the time his contract with Dynamo ends. He joins a Pardubice roster that has over 1,100 combined games of NHL experience with names like Libor Hájek, Lukáš Sedlák, and Vladimír Sobotka. They’re looking to get over the hump after back-to-back Extraliga final losses in 2024 and 2025.

Free Agent Profile: Max Pacioretty

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Despite registering multi-goal seasons (six of those being 30-goal campaigns) for the bulk of his NHL career, veteran winger Max Pacioretty can no longer be relied upon as a primary scorer, nor a secondary one. Essentially, since his second Achilles tendon tear in mid-January of the 2022-23 season with the Carolina Hurricanes, Pacioretty has been a shell of the player he once was.

Still, despite a down season (for his standards) with the Washington Capitals throughout the 2023-24 campaign, Pacioretty turned a professional tryout agreement into a bonus-laden deal with the Maple Leafs last summer. Unfortunately for his earning power, Pacioretty spent much of his year on the injured reserve, scoring five goals and 13 points in 37 contests, averaging 13:30 of ice time.

He turned things around during a brief playoff stretch, scoring three goals and eight points in 11 games while averaging 12:51 of ice time. Hindsight being 20/20, Pacioretty’s strong postseason performance wasn’t good enough to earn him a guaranteed contract early on this summer, but he did finish fourth on the Maple Leafs in playoff scoring ahead of John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Pacioretty hasn’t given any indication this summer that he’s ready to hang up his skates, as he believes he has a little more left in the tank to offer a contending team.

Stats

2024-25: 37 GP, 5 G, 8 A, 13 PTS, -2, 16 PIMS, 70 shots, 13:30 ATOI, 48.4 CF%
Career: 939 GP, 335 G, 346 A, 681 PTS, +53, 80 PIMS, 3,048 shots, 17:16 ATOI, 53.4 CF%

Potential Suitors

It’s already public information that Pacioretty would like to be close to southeastern Michigan, where he spent his collegiate hockey days with the University of Michigan Wolverines, and where he and his family reside in the off-season (the latter lives there year-round). Assuming Toronto is no longer interested in retaining Pacioretty, only two options remain.

The Columbus Blue Jackets would be the next closest option outside of the Detroit Red Wings, being approximately 80 miles closer to his family than the Maple Leafs offered. There is a pending trade request from Columbus’s Yegor Chinakhov, making Pacioretty a potential stopgap if they don’t get another winger in a hypothetical trade.

While the Red Wings have seemingly addressed their need for a veteran winger this offseason by signing James van Riemsdyk, they have also realized that they cannot rely on consistent offensive production from anyone other than Lucas Raymond. Even as a veteran with postseason experience, Pacioretty may even resign to a plug-and-play role, being a healthy scratch most nights unless needed for additional offense, if only for a chance to play closer to his family.

Projected Contract

Although he doesn’t know where he’s playing yet, Pacioretty should know exactly what kind of contract he’s getting. Due to the consistent injury concern, Pacioretty should only receive a one-year deal with a salary between $775K and $850K. The signing team could include a handful of games played bonuses, as did the Maple Leafs, but those may not even be required to give Pacioretty another chance to close out his career on a positive note.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Stefan Matteau Announces Retirement, Becomes Coach

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Jul. 31st: Matteau will only have to take a different pathway around the bench for the next portion of his career following his playing days on the ice. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Matteau will become the next assistant coach for AHL Cleveland. He’ll replace former coach Mark Letestu, who became the next head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles this offseason.

May 12th: Longtime minor-leaguer Stefan Matteau has retired, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced Monday.

Matteau, 31, had spent the last two seasons on AHL deals with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate. Injuries limited him to only four goals and 13 points in 30 games during that time, but he did dress as the team’s captain when healthy in 2024-25 and contributed seven points in 15 games.

The son of former NHLer Stephane Matteau kicked off his professional career with a bang. A versatile 6’2″, 207-lb forward with good skating and a heavy-hitting game, he went 29th overall to the Devils in the 2012 draft. His post-draft season was peculiar – he was recalled midway through the campaign from his junior team, the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He spent two months with the Devils before finishing the campaign in juniors again. That initial stretch of three points in 17 games in New Jersey for Matteau would end up standing as one of his career’s most extended NHL stretches.

The Illinois native never spent a full season on an NHL roster and bounced between the Devils, Canadiens, Golden Knights, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets over his 13-year professional career that included seven partial seasons of NHL action. He last played with Colorado in the 2021-22 campaign and totaled a 6-5–11 scoring line in 92 appearances with a -18 rating, averaging 10:15 per game.

Matteau spent nearly all of his career on this side of the Atlantic aside from the 2022-23 campaign, which he split between Sweden’s Linköping HC and Germany’s ERC Ingolstadt. He posted 21 points in 35 regular-season games between the two overseas clubs, including 20 in just 19 games with Ingolstadt.

As for his AHL career, the power winger wraps it up with 76-93–169 in 411 games across 10 seasons with 477 PIMs. All of us at PHR wish Matteau the best in retirement.

Snapshots: Zary, Eklund, Brennan

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The Calgary Flames grabbed headlines yesterday after signing forward Martin Pospisil to a three-year, $7.5MM extension. Still, restricted free agent forward Connor Zary remains unsigned heading into August, and negotiations are reportedly moving more slowly than expected.

In a new article from Daniel Austin of The Calgary Herald, when asked about Zary’s status, the journalist quoted Flames General Manager Craig Conroy saying, “We’re talking. It’s been slow, though. Even with Pospisil, there comes a point where it heats up and you think ‘Now we’re close’ and then you’re able to get it done really quick. Pospisil was probably two, three months we were talking with (agent Dan Millstein).”

Much of the disagreement reportedly centers on the contract length, with the Flames favoring a bridge deal and Zary advocating for a long-term contract. In all seriousness, Zary likely hasn’t earned a long-term deal yet, unless he’s willing to take a below-market salary. Over the past two years, the former 24th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has scored 27 goals and recorded 61 points in 117 games with the Flames, achieving a +5 rating while averaging 15:39 of ice time per game.

Other snapshots:

  • To little surprise, Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News reported earlier that recent first-round pick of the New York Islanders, Victor Eklund, won’t join the team for rookie camp or development camp in a few weeks. It’s already well known that this summer’s 16th overall selection will play for the SHL’s Djurgårdens IF this next season, and may lose his spot in the lineup if he misses the first few weeks of the regular season for Islanders training camp. Since he isn’t vying for a role on New York’s opening night roster, it makes far more sense for Eklund to continue his development overseas.
  • According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Columbus Blue Jackets have hired Barry Brennan as their new strength and conditioning coach. Brennan had previously served as the Blue Jackets’ conditioning coach from 2005 to 2010, before serving in the same role with the Atlanta Thrashers for the 2010-11 season, before becoming a team consultant for the KHL’s CSKA Moskva. He’ll replace now-former strength and conditioning coach Kevin Collins, who had been serving in the role since Brennan’s departure ahead of the 2010-11 season.

Easton Cowan Hoping To Join Maple Leafs Out Of Training Camp

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After sending All-Star winger Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade, the Toronto Maple Leafs have looked to fill their new offensive void by committee. Using the cap space left by Marner, the Maple Leafs have acquired Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua via trade. Still, there is a promising prospect eager to be part of the new equation.

Enter the 28th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Easton Cowan. Cowan is coming off an impressive three-year stint with the OHL’s London Knights, scoring 83 goals and 218 points in 168 games, with a +72 rating. He has also been a phenom in postseason action, scoring 32 goals and 94 points in 55 playoff games with a +41 rating, helping the Knights win two OHL championships and reach two Memorial Cup Final appearances, winning the most recent one this past season.

In a recent interview on Sportsnet’s The FAN Morning Show with hosts Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning, Knights head coach Dale Hunter said he expects Cowan to make the Maple Leafs roster out of training camp, saying, “He’s going to push to make the team and play well for the Leafs. Every organization needs young guys pushing to make the team, and it’ll make the Leafs better. I’m betting he’s going to make it, so that’s a good thing for the Leafs.”

Although it’s nice to hear a positive recommendation from his recent coach, Cowan has enough confidence for the both of them. During a team media availability after a development camp skate in early July, Cowan was quoted as saying, “This time last year, I wasn’t as good as I am now. Just being able to manage the puck better, I’ve learned that a lot this year, and obviously with the Knights organization, they helped me out a lot. I felt when games got bigger, I got better. Those are the games I love to play in, when there’s a lot of people watching and there’s high stakes.”

If it’s a high-stakes environment he craves, it’s a high-stakes environment he shall receive in Toronto. Although it was only the second time that the Maple Leafs had moved beyond the opening round of the playoffs in the last two decades, the postseason fell well short of expectations. Of arguably any team in the NHL for the foreseeable future, the stakes are the highest in Toronto.

Unfortunately for Cowan, he’ll have to have a flawless training camp to crack the opening night roster. The Maple Leafs already have 14 forwards signed to one-way contracts next season, without counting RFA forward Nicholas Robertson, who may be back with the club despite his ongoing trade request.

His pathway will become extremely narrow if Toronto decides to retain Robertson for the upcoming season. However, he could take one of the roster spots from Calle Järnkrok or Michael Pezzetta. Assuming he can beat out one of the latter two for a roster spot, Cowan could then work his way up to a top-six role throughout the regular season.

Have The Oilers Improved This Summer?

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Few teams have experienced as much movement this summer as the Edmonton Oilers. After two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals losses, it was expected that management would make some adjustments, but most fans probably hoped those changes would focus on the goaltending. That didn’t happen, and most of the team’s overhaul has taken place with the forwards, where many veterans left in free agency. Edmonton did what it could to find suitable replacements, but it still feels like their forward group isn’t as strong as the one that skated off the ice after a game six loss to the Florida Panthers in June.

The Oilers started their offseason by trading forward Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick this year. The Oilers needed to clear cap space urgently and managed to do so before the start of free agency on July 1st. Kane was expected to count $5.125MM against the Oilers’ cap on the final year of his four-year deal and was considered expendable by management. Kane isn’t the player he once was, but he could still skate, check, and shoot, and he was effective in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Edmonton probably didn’t want to move Kane, but given their situation this summer, they didn’t have many options.

Nearly a week after the Kane trade, Edmonton made another move, sending Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. The deal cleared $4MM in cap space for Edmonton and allowed them to re-sign top defenseman Evan Bouchard. Arvidsson never gained much traction with the Oilers, recording 15 goals and 12 assists in 67 games, but he was only a couple of years removed from posting 26 goals in a season with the Los Angeles Kings. Trading away Arvidsson and the final season of his two-year contract probably won’t make a big difference for the Oilers. Still, like Kane, it was a case of Edmonton selling low on a forward with a mid-tier deal and hoping to find a replacement with a lower salary.

Arvidsson wasn’t the only Oilers player to find a new home on July 1st; Connor Brown signed with the New Jersey Devils on a four-year, $12MM deal, Corey Perry signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles, and defenseman John Klingberg signed with San Jose. These moves certainly reduced the Oilers’ depth, but Edmonton did what it could to retain other potential UFAs on its roster while also finding buy-low options in free agency.

Edmonton secured Trent Frederic with an eight-year extension at $3.85MM annually and also re-signed Kasperi Kapanen on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM. Both Frederic and Kapanen are solid pros capable of playing in Edmonton’s bottom six, but their signings raise some concerns. The length of Frederic’s contract is excessive, especially for a player who scored eight goals and seven assists in 58 games last season. Meanwhile, Kapanen can go long stretches without producing, as he fluctuates offensively and offers limited defensive value. He’s not suited for the bottom six, but he’ll likely end up there because he’s not consistent enough for the top six.

On the same day as re-signing Kapanen, the Oilers also secured Bouchard with a four-year extension worth $42MM. The deal utilized most of the savings from trading Kane and Arvidsson, but it resolved one of the Oilers’ most pressing tasks this summer. Although the salary is eye-popping at $10.5MM per year, Bouchard has shown himself to be a top offensive defenseman in the NHL, even if he occasionally makes critical errors.

Once Edmonton had secured Bouchard, they had a clear idea of their available cap space for free agency. They proceeded to sign Andrew Mangiapane to a two-year deal and also added Curtis Lazar. Mangiapane’s contract was for two years at $7.2MM and could prove valuable for Edmonton if the 29-year-old can regain his scoring touch. The undersized forward played 81 games last season for the Washington Capitals and had a disappointing year, posting just 14 goals and 14 assists. The Toronto, Ontario native is three years removed from a 35-goal season and has been a reasonably consistent .5 PPG player throughout his career. He could be an option in the top six for the Oilers and possesses the skill set to fit that role.

Lazar, on the other hand, returns to Edmonton, a city where he played junior hockey in the WHL from 2011 to 2014. Lazar has moved around the NHL during his 11-year career, now playing for his seventh team, the Edmonton Oilers. Drafted 17th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, he is primarily known as a solid penalty killer, capable of forechecking, but not producing much offense. He will effectively replace veteran Derek Ryan, who was not re-signed and remains a free agent. Lazar could see some time in the AHL this season, given that he is earning league minimum, and could very well be a 13th forward for the Oilers.

Finally, the Oilers’ last move of the summer was acquiring forward Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Sam O’Reilly. Howard was a first-round pick of the Lightning in 2022 (31st overall). He was dominant last season in the NCAA, posting 26 goals and 26 assists in 37 games for Michigan State University. There is a lot of hope in Edmonton that Howard can jump into the top six and contribute, but there are no guarantees he will, and those expectations might be unrealistic, even though he is a talented prospect.

Considering the overall body of work so far this summer, the Oilers’ changes have been underwhelming. Losing Perry will no doubt hurt, as his net-front presence was crucial, especially in the playoffs, while Kane was a solid contributor in the first three rounds and helped Edmonton reach the finals. Overall, they’ve filled some of the gaps created by player departures, but it does seem like Edmonton lost some toughness and key veterans this summer, which could put them in a tough spot if they face the Florida Panthers for the third straight year.

The biggest miss so far is probably that Edmonton hasn’t addressed its goaltending issues, and it likely won’t be able to do much about it. Stuart Skinner seems to be the main guy between the pipes again, with Calvin Pickard backing him up. If the Oilers want to make a big boost this season, that’s where they’d get the most value, but because of their limited cap space, any move will likely need to be a lateral one financially, which could be tricky to pull off during the season.

Photo by Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Poll: Will The Penguins Be Able To Trade Erik Karlsson?

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Before the offseason began, it became clear that the Penguins were uniquely positioned as one of the league’s true few sellers who had no plans of contending for a playoff spot in 2026. Even with an understaffed roster, particularly on the blue line, they do still have some valuable trade chips to leverage in order to recoup additional future assets for their ongoing rebuild while also giving them a greater chance at a high-end pick in a stacked 2026 draft class.

While wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust will likely yield the most calls and have rather movable contracts, defenseman Erik Karlsson has also been on the shopping block since last season’s trade deadline. Aside from the declining veteran’s $10MM cap hit being virtually immovable without at least an additional 20% worth of retention, he has a no-movement clause through the remainder of his deal, which expires following the 2026-27 season.

Moving him, even with retention, is a sensible goal for the Penguins if they can yield a significant return. The 35-year-old obviously doesn’t fit into their long-term plans, and shedding some of his salary opens up more flexibility to take on more shorter-term undesirable contracts in the near future in exchange for additional futures, similar to their pickup of Matt Dumba from the Stars earlier this month.

That no-movement clause, which Karlsson waived to facilitate a trade to Pittsburgh from San Jose following his Norris-winning campaign in 2023, makes generating that significant return a difficult feat. He’s produced at a decent 55-point pace over his two seasons with the Pens and hasn’t missed a game since his acquisition, but a look under the hood reveals declining possession impacts to pair with his already solidified one-dimensional reputation as an offensive-minded rearguard.

While he usually helps his team generate significantly more shot attempts to help offset those poor defensive impacts, his +2.0% relative Corsi at even strength last year was among the worst of his career, as was his 48.4 xGF%. Entering his age-35 season, it’s not exactly as if there’s hope for a rebound there unless he’s deployed in an extremely insulated possession system.

Even if the Penguins are able to make Karlsson a $7MM-$8MM player for the next two seasons, the Venn diagram of teams that can afford him and those he’d be willing to waive his NMC for isn’t favorable. He’s willing to move but is only considering waiving his clause for a select few Stanley Cup contenders, according to reports earlier this month. That’s both foreseeable and reasonable – Karlsson has yet to reach a Stanley Cup Final in his 16-year NHL career.

That makes it hard to see many speculative fits outside of a potential move to the Hurricanes, who have something of a hole on the right side of their blue line after losing Karlsson’s former teammate, Brent Burns, to Colorado in free agency. They’ve got the space ($10.64MM) to burn and the high-end possession system to insulate his defensive shortcomings, particularly if he’s given license to play top-pairing minutes with one of the league’s top pure shutdown rearguards in Jaccob Slavin.

He’s not an extremely pressing need for Carolina with some other skilled puck-movers on their back end and a potential game-breaker in Russian rookie Alexander Nikishin, though. There will be questions, both from the public and likely within the Canes’ front office, of whether it’s wise to spend their remaining cap space on an area of strength rather than trying to pursue options to address their hole at second-line center.

PHR readers – how do you think things will shake out? Will the Penguins be able to get a Karlsson deal done? If so, how much money will they need to retain to make it happen? Vote in our poll below:

If you can’t see the poll, click here to vote.

Current NHL Free Agents

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The following players are currently free agents. Each player’s 2025 age is in parentheses. Only players who saw NHL action last season and ended the year on the active roster are listed here. Players who have announced their retirement or signed overseas are not included.

Updated Aug. 15, 2025

Unrestricted Free Agents

Centers

Luke Glendening (36)
Kevin Rooney (32)
Jack Roslovic (28)

Left Wingers

Robby Fabbri (29)
Noah Gregor (26) – non-tender
Brock McGinn (31)
Tyler Motte (30)
Matthew Nieto (32)
Victor Olofsson (30)
Max Pacioretty (36)

Right Wingers

Cam Atkinson (36)
Hudson Fasching (30)
Klim Kostin (26) – non-tender
Luke Kunin (27)
Kevin Labanc (29)
Brett Leason (26) – non-tender
Trevor Lewis (38)
Craig Smith (35)

Left-Shot Defensemen

T.J. Brodie (35)
Calvin de Haan (34)
Matt Grzelcyk (31)
Jack Johnson (38)
Oliver Kylington (28)
Jonathon Merrill (33)
Brendan Smith (36)
Ryan Suter (40)
Marc-Édouard Vlasic (38)

Right-Shot Defensemen

Robert Bortuzzo (36)
Jani Hakanpää (33)
Erik Johnson (37)
Jan Rutta (35)

Goaltenders

Alexandar Georgiev (29)
James Reimer (37)
Georgi Romanov (25) – non-tender
Ilya Samsonov (28)

Restricted Free Agents

Centers

Mason McTavish (22)
Marco Rossi (23)
Connor Zary (23)

Left Wingers

none

Right Wingers

Luke Evangelista (23)
Alexander Holtz (23)

Left-Shot Defensemen

Luke Hughes (21)
Wyatt Kaiser (23)
Donovan Sebrango (23)

Right-Shot Defensemen

none

Goaltenders

none

Snapshots: Lawrence, Wassilyn, Schneider

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2026 projected top-10 pick Tynan Lawrence was a high pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft one year ago by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, leading to speculation he may jump there for his draft year. That doesn’t appear to be the case, per Jonathan Hudon of Le Quotidien, who relays Lawrence is expected to remain with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for 2025-26 instead.

Lawrence, a late birthday for the class who turns 17 next weekend, is a 6’0″ center currently pegged to go in the No. 6-No. 10 overall range in preseason rankings. The New Brunswick native has played in the United States since 2022, when he opted to head to renowned prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s to continue his development. He joined Muskegon last season, posting 54 points in 56 regular-season games before guiding the Lumberjacks to a Clark Cup championship, posting 18 points in 14 playoff games to be named MVP as a 16-year-old rookie in the high-end junior league.

He would have been a big get for Chicoutimi and joined what looks like a stronger-than-normal class out of the QMJHL next season, but he’ll instead stay south of the border with a commitment to Boston University for the 2027-28 campaign still on the books (although that will presumably get moved up to the 2026-27 campaign).

Elsewhere from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking with next year’s draft, projected first-rounder Braidy Wassilyn is also a Boston University commit. There was some speculation he might join them as a 17-year-old freshman for the upcoming season but that won’t happen, according to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. The 5’11” forward will instead remain with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, where he had an 8-31–39 scoring line in 62 games last season.
  • Heading overseas, former NHLer Cole Schneider has signed with Italy’s HC Bolzano in the ICEHL, the club announced. The 34-year-old American headed to Europe last summer after a lengthy AHL career, winning the Norwegian league scoring title with 64 points in 45 games for Storhamar. Schneider, who had one assist in six career games for the Sabres, also has 574 points in 776 career AHL games.

Sabres Sign Devon Levi To Two-Year Deal

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The Sabres announced that they have signed restricted free agent goaltender Devon Levi to a two-year deal. It’s a cap hit of $812,500, presumably paying him a league-minimum salary in each of the next two years on a one-way deal for a total value of $1.625MM.

Levi, 23, was Buffalo’s last unsigned RFA. The promising netminder had little to no leverage in contract talks this summer as a dual-threat 10.2(c) player – not only was he ineligible to file for salary arbitration, he was also ineligible to receive and sign offer sheets.

His time in the Sabres organization has been marked by a clear disconnect between his NHL and minor-league performances. Overall, he has 39 NHL appearances (36 starts) to his name over the last three years, underwhelming with a 3.29 GAA and .894 SV%. Those numbers are even propped up by a strong showing in his first taste of NHL action in late 2023; he only has a .892 SV% in the last two seasons with a subpar .448 quality start percentage.

Combining that with his excellent performance with the AHL’s Rochester Americans over the last two seasons has put him in an odd spot between being a true No. 2 or No. 3 on the Sabres’ depth chart. He’s logged 68 games for the Amerks since the beginning of 2023-24, posting a .922 SV% and 41-19-10 record with seven shutouts. He’s arguably been the league’s best goalie during that time, usurping the Flames’ Dustin Wolf after he landed a full-time NHL gig.

Those numbers come on the back of Levi serving as the best goalie in college hockey for two seasons with Northeastern, making his ceiling all the more tantalizing. Initially a 2020 seventh-round pick by the Panthers from the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL, a junior ’A’ league, he had a coming-out party with Canada at the following year’s World Juniors and was eventually traded to Buffalo in the Sam Reinhart deal. In his two years with Northeastern before turning pro with the Sabres, he posted a .942 SV% and 16 shutouts in 66 games and was given the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s top goaltender both times.

The Sabres were hoping Levi could take a significant step forward in his development last season, even waiving veteran James Reimer at the beginning of the year to make Levi the opening-night backup. He had just a .870 SV% through his first seven games before Buffalo was able to reclaim Reimer off waivers from the Ducks, allowing them to return Levi to the AHL. He only made two more NHL appearances the rest of the way for a 2-7-0 record, .872 SV%, 4.12 GAA, and -8.0 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

That undoubtedly left a sour taste in the Sabres’ mouth and left them unwilling to dole out a contract with a seven-figure cap hit, something we’ve seen teams do with high-ceiling but unestablished netminders to try and squeeze some value out of them while they’re breaking out into NHL minutes. For Levi, it’s not as if he had much choice if he wants a legitimate chance to fight for an NHL job in camp and leapfrog veteran Alex Lyon, who the Sabres signed in free agency as veteran insurance, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s backup to begin the year.

His lack of leverage in talks means a league-minimum deal if he cracks the NHL roster. Still, he’ll at least be much more well-compensated if he returns to Rochester after spending the last two seasons under the two-way structure of his entry-level contract.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

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