Ryan McLeod traded to Buffalo for Matthew Savoie

On Friday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers traded forward Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres for prospect Matthew Savoie. Edmonton also added its own prospect, Tyler Tulio, to the deal.

During the 2023-24 regular season, McLeod had 30 points in 81 games and scored four goals in 24 playoff games. Savoie, considered Buffalo’s top prospect, had 263 points in 183 career WHL games and qualified for this year’s Memorial Cup tournament with the Moose Jaw Warriors. I wasn’t confident in Tulio’s chances of ever becoming a full-time Oiler, we’ll see how he fares as a Sabres prospect. I said in my previous article that he wasn’t a good fit for Edmonton because of his size. And then we acquired a more highly regarded prospect who is also small. (sigh) This is why I only write about hockey and don’t actually work in hockey (lol).

I like McLeod a lot as a player, I always have. Yes, he’s too much of a perimeter player, shy to go to the corners most of the time. But there are also a few things I like about his game. He’s a fast skater, good defensively and an option on the penalty kill. I wouldn’t have considered him a trade option since he’s a center, and you can never have too many of those, especially with the depth this team has now. I just feel bad because it happened the summer after he almost won the Stanley Cup with the team he grew up rooting for. It’s a shame to see McLeod go, but the NHL is a business, and I wish him the best in Buffalo. They’ve built a solid 3C who can also slide in as a second-line winger on rare occasions.

Before this trade, the Oilers were $2,454,167 over the cap. Now they are down to $354,167. They still have to re-sign Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The $2.1 million in cap relief from removing McLeod will go toward re-signing those two players. Any additional/depth players they sign or re-sign can be healthy players or sent to the AHL. So we don’t really have to worry about being over that amount.

I asked a Sabres fan online for his take on the trade. He told me they had a glut of forward prospects and needed to part ways with one of them. I looked at their line combinations in the NHL and it’s true. Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens actually have good young wingers, plus Alex Tuch. I guess since they’re trying to make the playoffs in the toughest division in the league, they wanted to add a little more experience to their lineup. I’m surprised the return had to be Savoie, though. Happy but surprised. For a prospect pool that was starting to look thin heading into last weekend, he just became our new No. 1 prospect. It’s also a little ironic because Edmonton drafted his older brother Carter two years earlier, who didn’t get a qualifying offer. We traded the Savoie kid for another one.