- Jeff Marek says the Sabres-Levi relationship has run its course
- Levi spent the entire 2025-26 season in AHL Rochester behind a three-goalie NHL crease
- Read below for the goalie logjam shoving Levi out of Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres and Devon Levi might be done.
Jeff Marek dropped that one this week, saying on a recent podcast appearance that the Sabres and the 24-year-old goalie are “over.” He didn’t get more specific than that, but the message was loud enough. After a season spent fully buried in Rochester, the kid Buffalo once banked on as its goalie of the future doesn’t have a path back into the picture.
It’s a sharp turn from where things stood ten months ago, when the Sabres handed Levi a two-year extension and welcomed him back as “The Beast”:
His deal carries an $812,500 AAV and runs through 2026-27. The plan was for Levi to push for NHL minutes. Buffalo’s actual NHL crease never had room for him.
Lindy Ruff rode Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as the starter, Alex Lyon as the steady backup, and Colten Ellis sprinkled in after the Sabres claimed him off waivers from St. Louis in October. All three are under contract for 2026-27.
Levi got the year in Rochester. He finished with a .904 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA across 52 regular-season games, both worse than what he put up in the AHL the year before. The Amerks then dropped their best-of-three first-round series to Toronto.
Here’s Levi addressing the media after his Game 2 playoff shutout last month:
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported back in March that the Sabres were already shopping Levi at the trade deadline and planned to revisit those calls in the summer. Marek’s line tracks with the same direction of travel.
Levi still has the pedigree. Mike Richter Award winner. Beanpot MVP. Thirty-nine NHL games on his ledger before turning 24. Somebody’s going to take a swing once he hits the market. Buffalo just doesn’t look like the team he ends up playing for.
