Devon Levi once looked like the future goalie of the Buffalo Sabres.
That time has clearly passed by, though, and for the first time on Thursday night, he suited up for a different NHL team: the Edmonton Oilers.
It wasn’t the Edmonton debut he would’ve wanted.
The Oilers did win, yes, making Levi 1-0 on the season as he stepped in for game two for starter Tristan Jarry.
But the final score? Oilers 9, Canucks 7.
Yep, Levi gave up seven goals.
Devon Levi Stats
It was a night Levi will want to forget, but given the crazy nature of a 9-7 hockey game, it may be a tough one to put out of his mind.
Levi faced just 22 shots on goal, but he saved only 15 of them.
His 15-for-22 works out to a 68.2 save percentage.
It prompted mocking posts like this one on social media:
Devon Levi was UNREAL in his first start of the season š¤©š„
7 goals allowed š„š„š„š„
.682 SV% š¤Æš¤Æš¤Æš¤Æ
WIN š±š±š±š±Oilers might just mess around and win the Jennings this year. šš pic.twitter.com/yNBLOwo3Ee
ā NHLMuse (@NHL_Muse) October 2, 2026
Only one of the goals for Vancouver came on the power play, and none while shorthanded. So mostly, Levi simply struggled to stop the rare opportunities he had to make saves at even strength.
Oddly, the Oilers and Canucks combined only for 53 shots on goal. The goalies just allowed in goal after goal.
Levi had played in the NHL before with the Sabres, but not much, and he had fallen out of favor with head coach Lindy Ruff and spent most of the past two seasons with AHL Rochester.
He didn’t have a spot in Buffalo anymore with the likes of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis all around.
It made perfect sense for the Sabres to trade him, and the Oilers have been constantly searching for their answer in goal, so they were a logical landing spot.
Things could still work out for Levi in Edmonton, but allowing seven goals is quite the brutal first impression.
Continued Oilers Dilemma
Edmonton has the best player in hockey, Connor McDavid, as well as fantastic running mates like Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.
But for pretty much all of McDavid’s recent years, the Oilers have struggled in goal. And at least in part because of that, McDavid has never won a Stanley Cup.
McDavid’s current contract runs through next season, and if Edmonton doesn’t win by then, it seems certain he would leave.
So the Oilers have to solve the goalie position. Trading for Jarry in the middle of last season and then Levi this offseason qualify as their latest attempts to do that.
But so far, Jarry gave up six to the Canucks in the opener and Levi gave up seven to the Canucks in game two.
It certainly doesn’t seem like the problem is solved yet.
Devon Levi’s 1st Game Away From Sabres is Oilers Nightmare