The Edmonton Oilers’ story between the pipes this upcoming season could be one of the more intriguing storylines to follow.

Tristan Jarry is set to make his return in net after a disappointing first season in Oil Country, along with newcomers Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen, with the latter reported to miss training camp and the start of the season. While the narrative for most of the offseason was that the team would be rotating through a three-goalie system, Andersen’s injury will certainly put that idea on hold, at least for now.

And with just under a month until the 2026-27 season gets underway, let’s make some bold predictions. I’ll start with this one: Devon Levi emerges as the Oilers’ best regular-season goaltender.

By “best,” I mean the goaltender who gets the most regular-season starts, records the most wins, and posts the best save percentage. So, why do I think Levi could emerge as the Oilers’ best regular-season netminder? First, look at the opportunity in front of him.

No one ever wants to see a player go down with an injury, but the recent news of Andersen being sidelined should’ve made Levi’s ears perk up a bit. With the Stanley Cup-winning netminder out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Levi will only be up against Jarry for playing time out of the gate.

Jarry will surely be given the longer look to start the season, but if he falters, which is entirely possible, Levi just needs to be ready to seize his opportunity.

Levi will be turning 25 in December, and he’s at an age where many NHL netminders start to find their rhythm in the league. And a difference between Levi and Jarry is that, at this point in their careers, Levi has more upside and more to prove, while the 31-year-old Jarry will be out to find the form of his past and get back to the above-900 save percentage he posted in previous seasons. Levi may be the hungrier of the two.

And for him to take the reins coming out of the gate, he just needs to outplay Jarry, which is very much within the realm of possibility. If so, the Oilers could find themselves in a situation where the young goaltender they acquired for a third-round pick becomes their best option in net by Christmas.

So, why else do I think Levi can emerge as the Oilers’ best regular-season netminder? Past performance doesn’t always guarantee future success, but at times, it can be a pretty good indicator of what’s to come. And one thing I can’t deny about Levi is his history of winning.

While he has a winning record in the AHL over the last two seasons with the Rochester Americans, going 48-33-13 over that span, he has also earned some serious accolades from his time in the NCAA.

He led Northeastern University to their first-ever Hockey East regular-season championship in 2021–22, and won the Beanpot tournament in 2023, where he was named MVP. He also became the first goaltender to win the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s top goaltender twice. He was named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year twice and the Hockey East Rookie of the Year in 2021–22, and the list goes on.

He also took home a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2021 World Juniors, earning Top Goaltender honours while playing through broken ribs, showing just how resilient he can be.

Another thing that really stands out is the .942 save percentage (SV%) Levi posted at Northeastern University, which ranks second all-time among NCAA goaltenders, trailing only former Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.

Additionally, I feel that, above all the positions in hockey, being a goaltender may be the most mentally demanding, and being successful in the position requires both the right mindset and a certain level of mental toughness.

Being asked to stop pucks in a hockey-crazed city like Edmonton, in front of 18,000 fans, is a tough task, but one Levi appears mentally equipped to take on.

A couple of things he does to work on the mental side of the game are reading self-improvement books to help calm his mind and uses a unique in-game routine where he checks in mentally throughout the game. He skates toward the blue line, drops to his knees, closes his eyes and focuses on breathing and meditation, and there could very well be other methods he uses as well.

At the same time, if Levi does run into some trouble early, I can’t help but think about how head coach Mike Babcock could play a role in helping him work through it. The coach has done it before, helping a young Frederik Andersen in 2016 when the goaltender was struggling early in his Toronto Maple Leafs days. Babcock reinforced his confidence in the netminder and offered mental reset suggestions that ultimately helped him turn a corner. Perhaps, if Levi needs it, Babcock can do the same for him.

And if you’re paying attention to my wording, I mentioned the prediction for Levi is to become the Oilers’ best ‘regular-season’ goaltender, but I didn’t predict that he’ll be their best goaltender for the entire season, because the playoffs are an entirely different animal, where anything can happen.

Would I like to see Levi lead the Oilers in the regular season and also lead them in the playoffs? 100%. But things can go sideways quickly with young netminders, and I can’t confidently make that prediction.

I could see a scenario where Levi emerges as the Oilers’ best regular-season goaltender, while Andersen gets ready down the stretch for the playoffs. Because overall, I feel Andersen’s signing is more about playoff insurance, with Levi and Jarry getting more of the regular-season starts while keeping Andersen fresh for when the games matter most. After all, he went 13-2 in last year’s playoffs with the Carolina Hurricanes and the veteran could be the Oilers’ best playoff option this season.

So, while I’ll avoid making the prediction that Levi will emerge as the Oilers’ best goaltender over the entire 2026-27 campaign, at this time, I certainly believe the 24-year-old netminder has what it takes to become their best goaltender during the regular season.

And I’d like to add one more thing. Another reason for my prediction is simply a gut feeling.

When I did a deep dive into the netminder earlier in the summer, one quote in particular stuck with me and played a factor in that feeling. It came from his personal goalie coach, Marco Raimondo, who said in an interview with The Athletic in 2022:

I made a bold prediction, but the one from Raimondo, who has spent countless hours working with Levi, is even bolder, and it’s one I, and certainly all Oilers fans, hope comes true this upcoming season.

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