The Edmonton Oilers are a team that are led by arguably the two best players in the National Hockey League, but despite this (and Connor McDavid taking a ridiculous discount), the team are yet to get over the hump for their first Stanley Cup since 1990.
Running into the Florida Panthers in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals certainly didn’t help, but in the end, it was the Oilers shortcomings around McDavid and Draisaitl that held them back from being as dominant as they could be. This summer, they’ve got a chance to rectify some of that under Stan Bowman with new Head Coach Mike Babcock in charge, and as always, they’ll be looking for a major upgrade at the goaltending position.
Oilers Linked to Buffalo’s Devon Levi
GettyDevon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres.
While the team have targeted veterans before, it simply hasn’t worked out with Tristan Jarry, Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram both falling short when the team needed it the most (although the defense in front of them remained highly questionable as well).
For the most part, they’re yet to land a young goaltender that could grow with the organization, and given their urgency to chase a Stanley Cup in what may be the final few years of Connor McDavid, it makes plenty of sense. However, they need to try something different, and now that something different may have presented itself in the form of Buffalo Sabres young prospect Devon Levi, according to Elliotte Friedman.
“I heard Buffalo had Devon Levi out there quite a bit on the weekend and I heard a team that did some real research into him was Edmonton, but obviously that didn’t happen.”
Obviously, that doesn’t mean that the Oilers are going to get Levi in the immediate future, nor does it mean that they’re done doing their research on him, but with the Sabres pushing to capitalize on the success of 2025/26, they may be open to moving the 24-year-old.
Oilers Need Significant Upgrade in Net
Whether it’s Levi or not, the Oilers need a significant upgrade in net, as they have lagged behind every other contending team with star goaltenders like Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevsky and so many others that have led their team to a Stanley Cup.
In Levi, the Oilers would not be getting a proven commodity, as he has just a 3.29 GAA and an .894 save percentage at the NHL level, but given the overwhelming talent of the 6-foot-0 former seventh-round pick, it may be a swing worth taking for the Oilers front office that are in desperate need of change at the position. Up until now, Levi has not proven himself at the NHL level, and that could hold the team back from making a deal, but if they see him as someone that can truly help them moving forward, perhaps in tandem with a veteran like Tristan Jarry to build him as their future starter, it’s safe to say that teams have taken a lot worse risks.
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