The Buffalo Sabres have completed their second trade in as many days, this time sending forward Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers. In return, the Sabres acquired a first-round draft pick in 2022 and goaltender Devon Levi.
Levi, 19, is a 6-foot, 175-pound net minder who was drafted by the Panthers in 2020 with the 212th selection. He most recently played for the CCHL’s Carleton Place Canadians in the 2019-20 season, where he appeared in 37 games. His record that season: 34-2-1, with a .941 save percentage and 1.47 GAA.
The Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native is set to be a sophomore at Northeastern. He did not play this past season with the Huskies due to injury, but did appear in seven games with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships. There, he had a 0.75 GAA (yes, you read that correctly) and a .964 save percentage, going 6-1-0 as the tournament’s top goalie.
Reinhart had been with the Sabres organization since being drafted by the team in 2014 with the second-overall pick. The 25-year-old center has appeared in 454 NHL games – all with Buffalo – and accrued 295 points, including 161 assists. This past season, he was the only Sabres player to hit the 40-point mark, scoring 25 goals and adding 15 assists in 54 games.
On the surface, this seems like a significant loss for the Sabres. Giving up Reinhart without getting an NHL-caliber player back? HOW? Especially when this deal took hours to be finalized, reportedly because of a hang-up with the “draft picks” involved… it’s a disappointing move on this Saturday afternoon.
What are your thoughts on this deal?