As Stan Bowman hunts for a crease upgrade, Edmonton performed deep due diligence on Devon Levi before pivoting toward an increasingly crowded market of veteran goaltending alternatives.
Edmonton did their homework on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi — but they ultimately decided that it wasn't the right fit. At least for now.
Elliotte Friedman revealed on the 32 Thoughts podcast that Buffalo made Levi widely available over the weekend, and that the Oilers were among the teams that did serious due diligence on the 23-year-old. "I heard a team that did some real research into him was Edmonton," Friedman said — before adding: "but obviously that didn't happen."
The Oilers are looking to improve their goaltending situation. They've got Tristan Jarry under contract, but both Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram are pending UFAs. Ingram could be back, with Mark Spector reporting he is "bullish on the Oilers", but GM Stan Bowman has been out there looking around.
Sebastian Cossa was recently traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Utah Mammoth, which took another option off the board. That potentially helped pivot the search in Buffalo's direction.
Edmonton clearly identified Levi as a potential candidate, invested real time evaluating him, and ultimately walked away. Whether the asking price was too steep, the fit wasn't right, or Buffalo's demands didn't align with what Bowman was willing to offer remains unclear.
The goalie market is only going to get busier. Frank Seravalli reports that Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, Sam Montembeault and Jacob Markstrom are among the names available ahead of July 1, giving Edmonton plenty of alternatives to consider.
The crease remains Edmonton's most pressing unsolved problem. Levi wasn't the answer — but someone has to be.
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