The early part of the 2025-26 National Hockey League season has been a rough one for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. The team currently sits outside of a playoff spot with a 2-3-1 record and is in the midst of a three game losing skid.
On top of this, the team has been genuinely outplayed in multiple games with their depth scoring struggling to produce and their goaltenders struggling to stop pucks among defensive lapses. It has been a rough time for Oilers fans.
So, when NHL insider Jeff Marek threw out a rumour about an exciting and hyped young goaltender Devon Levi, who could be on the block, it did not take long for Oilers fans to start to daydream.
These dreams started when Marek on his podcast 'The Sheet', threw out the idea of the Buffalo Sabres shopping their top goalie prospect, Devon Levi.
Jeff Marek: Re Sabres rumours: There's another name...for me there's a ton of questions...Devon Levi; that is one that's under the radar right now; it does very much sound like there's something there - The Sheet (10/17)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) October 19, 2025
Is Devon Levi the Oilers' answer in net?
Levi, 23, is a young goaltender who was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He was acquired by the Sabres and after two standout seasons at the NCAA level with Northeastern University, winning goaltender of the year in back-to-back seasons, he opted to turn pro.
Since this decision in 2023, he has played up and down between the Sabres and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In total, he has played 39 games at the NHL level, with a 17-17-2 record with a 3.29 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.
At the AHL level, he has been even more impressive having played 70 games with a 43-19-10 record and a 2.32 GAA and .921 save percentage in the regular season. In the postseason he has 13 games played with a 7-6 record and a 2.54 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Although he is undersized for a modern NHL goalie at 6'0, 192lbs he has shown that his game has been able to translate to the pro ranks. The excitement surrounding Levi is understandable, he blew the doors off the NCAA and has proven himself capable at all levels.
However, it would not be out of the ordinary for a player, let alone one as unpredictable as a goaltender, to have this hype and look this good early on to still fail. This happens all the time in sports and him being an unproven player presents inherent risks.
It is a risky business
It should come as no surprise to anyone if in five or ten years, the only time his name comes up is in 'remember this guy?' conversations. A team like the Oilers may find an unknown commodity appealing because a lot of times the price tag to acquire players can be cheaper than the value he brings on-ice. It is the risk and reward that the general manager Stan Bowman would need to seriously consider before making this move.
Also, given his status as a top goalie prospect around the league, he is likely not going to come cheap for whatever team wants to acquire him. The Sabres are intentionally being patient with his development, he is not in a logjam but if he wants out, similar to Yaroslav Askarov last summer, it will cost the Oilers.
When the Nashville Predators traded Askarov, a player many considered the top goaltending prospect in the sport to the San Jose Sharks, the price tag made sense. The Predators acquired two prospects (Magnus Chrona and David Edstrom) and a first round pick in 2025 in exchange for Askarov, Nolan Burke and a 2025 third round pick.
This is probably a similar deal that the Oilers would need to make for Levi but given the Sabres public interest in keeping him, it could take even more to pry him away. Although using this trade as a baseline means that the Oilers would not trade any roster players, spending these assets on a player who may not be NHL ready now or even in the future could seriously harm the Stanley Cup contention window for the team.
It is most likely when or if the Oilers do make a trade in goal, it will be for an established veteran NHL netminder. Unless they can spend very little, it is a move that makes little sense for the Oilers to make at this time.