The Philadelphia Flyers are riding high with a 6-3-1 record to start their season but that doesn’t prevent them from having eyes on the future and more specifically what is the future in the crease. According to a report, the Flyers are eyeing a certain disgruntled goalie prospect in the Buffalo Sabres organization.
Devon Levi was once the hottest goalie prospect in the world. The centerpiece of the return for the Sabres in the trade that sent Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers in 2021, Levi was simply the best goaltender in college hockey during his time there. Two seasons with Northeastern University where he averaged a remarkable .942 save percentage and 1.90 goals against average in the 66 games he appeared in.
He was once seen as the answer to the Sabres’ goalie problem but now in his third full season since leaving the NCAA, he has yet to really find a stable role in the organization. Levi has been lights out in the AHL, with a .922 save percentage and a 45-19-10 record with the Rochester Americans, but during the multiple chances he’s had to show that he can be an NHL netminder, he has been mediocre. A .894 save percentage through 39 games isn’t the worst, but it also isn’t anywhere close to what is expected after his stellar performances elsewhere.
Now, Levi is soon going to turn 24 years old and the Montreal native might not have much longer of a future with the Sabres. There are already rumors from some sources that he has asked for a trade and now, teams are reportedly circling — and one of those teams is the Philadelphia Flyers.
Flyers could be eyeing up Levi
According to Jimmy Murphy of RG Media, the Flyers could be one of the teams who seriously inquire about Levi’s availability if the Sabres start putting his name on the trade block in a more obvious fashion. In his report, Murphy quoted what he called a “trusted NHL source”.
“I haven’t confirmed that, but like I already told you, his name has been out there since he didn’t make the team out of camp,” the source told R.org on Thursday. “It got weird when they signed Alexandar Georgiev when UPL [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] was hurt in camp, and then they went with him and Lyon, and then added Colton Ellis instead of giving Levi a chance.
A lot of teams have been watching this, and I can tell you that the Mammoth and the Flyers would love to know what it takes to get this kid in a trade. I don’t think talks with them or other teams have gotten too far yet, but there will be more if the kid wants out.”
It’s extremely interesting. Obviously, the goaltending situation in Buffalo is horrendous. There is a carousel of mediocre-to-bad netminders and Levi is just there, below them in the minors not having played a game since January 20, where he saved 28 of 33 against the Seattle Kraken. His longest streak of actually being with the Sabres was 11 games during the 2023-24 season where he had a 6-4-1 record and earned a .903 save percentage. That is not a long amount of time to get comfortable — Levi was basically with the team for just two months during that time.
So, it would make sense if he would want out of there as he sees the lack of direction for the entire organization.
Now, when it comes to the connection to the Flyers it does seem like they were a little bit of a throw in for this NHL source. Putting the equation together of the Flyers historically having terrible goaltending, especially last season, and one that has a very high ceiling being available.
But if we take this as full fact, what could the Flyers be thinking about if they are targeting Levi?
Why would the Flyers pursue Levi?
The Flyers goaltending is generally in a more positive spot than it has been in recent memory. Obviously, in the NHL they have Dan Vladar and he has started out the season exceptionally well — but who knows how long that lasts. Sam Ersson is still someone the organization seems to feel positive about despite showing nothing but below-average performances as he ages out of being a prospect.
Then you move down to the minors where 23-year-old Aleksei Kolosov is having a good start with the Phantoms after refusing to go down there last season, and AHL rookie netminder Carson Bjarnason has a very solid .910 save percentage through his first three pro games after graduating from junior hockey. Move even further down the line and you have, of course, Russian phenom Yegor Zavragin doing things and putting up numbers at 20 years old that is unheard of outside of the truly elite netminders.
There’s hope mixed with a little bit of uncertainty at the top. But the main thing is the timeline of ages and how acquiring Devon Levi could potentially fit in. Vladar is 28 years old and no one knows if the Flyers even think of keeping him beyond his contract through next season, and Sam Ersson at 25 years old could potentially not even be in the organization this time next year.
And Zavragin and Bjarnason are too young, both just 20 years old, for them to be a factor in acquiring a 23-year-old netminder. The one key to all of this is Kolosov and if they view him as someone good enough to not try and get a top-end young netminder with promise like Levi. They are both shorter goalies at 6-foot but the Sabres prospect has been exponentially better in the AHL than Kolosov.
Only thing is it would get pretty messy. Vladar and Ersson (once he is healthy) in the NHL, and then the depth chart of Kolosov, Levi, and Bjarnason all being with the Phantoms — it just creates chaos. Unless, of course someone goes the other way in a trade but trying to even fathom what a trade specifically looks like between two teams is a fool’s errand.
Acquiring Levi with the idea that he would be ready for full-time NHL work next season (when Ersson is no longer under contract) and then gradually increasing his workload with the hope that he could reach his ceiling as an above-average NHL goalie, isn’t the worst idea in the world. Bjarnason would slowly mature and could work his way into being Levi’s eventual backup in a few years (if we’re dreaming of this timeline). Plus, Zavragin is out of his KHL contract and could be in North America for the 2027-28 season, and while he could be the answer in between the pipes everyone is dying for, who knows what happens in the next two years?
Getting more and more talent is never a bad thought, but it might take some careful consideration if the Flyers were to heavily pursue Devon Levi — and that’s not even mentioning what kind of return the Sabres would want.