The Edmonton Oilers have pulled the trigger on a massive trade this offseason, moving forwards Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for prospect forward Matthew Savoie. While the Oilers have been rumoured to have been looking to shed some contracts in hopes of increasing their cap space heading into the 2024-25 season, this deal gives the Oilers some extra flexibility all while being one of the biggest fleeces in Oilers trade history. While McLeod is a proven NHL player, and Tullio could become a depth player in the big leagues one day, it’s rather surprising that the Sabres chose to part with someone they selected in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft with the 9th overall selection. The Oilers won this deal for two main reasons, so let’s touch on them.
Oilers Clear Cap Space Without Needing Sweetener
The Oilers are a contending team who would prefer to have some money to spend heading toward the trade deadline. While the Detroit Red Wings cleared some cap space by moving Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks, it also cost them a second-round pick, even though Walman is a solid defender. With the price set quite high by the Red Wings to clear cap space, the Oilers were still able to clear over $2 million without giving up a massive asset. Tullio is a good prospect, but unfortunately, he’s not someone the Oilers likely ever had future plans to use in their lineup.
Now, you could argue Tullio was the sweetener in the deal with the Sabres. However, the Oilers won the deal bringing in an elite-level prospect in Savoie. It seems like a rather mind-boggling move for the Sabres, who are bringing in a top-six American Hockey League (AHL) forward with no guarantee that he will make it to the NHL as well as a solid bottom-six forward, in exchange for a prospect who could be in the NHL full-time as early as next season and has the potential to take on a top-six forward role within the next two seasons.
Last season, Savoie had one game with the Sabres, six games with the Rochester Americans of the AHL, where he had five points, and 11 games with the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he had 24 points before being traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors where he had 47 points through 23 games. McLeod put up 30 points through 81 games with the Oilers last season but struggled in the postseason. He stood out as a player who lacked consistency with his physical game and couldn’t provide offensive production, only scoring four goals through 24 games. McLeod being dealt shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s nice to be considered lopsided winners of a trade.
Savoie Bolsters Oilers Weak Prospect Pool
Before this deal, the Oilers had one of, if not the weakest, prospect pool in the NHL. Adding Savoie doesn’t bring the Oilers among the elite prospect pools throughout the NHL, but it brings them up from the bottom. Savoie is someone who realistically could play in the NHL full-time as early as next season but could benefit from one more season in the AHL before making the transition. However, this kind of prospect isn’t something the Oilers had before this deal, so it’s nice to add some forward depth internally for a solid price against the cap space.
The Oilers are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final next season and win their first championship since 1990. The addition of Savoie may not push the needle this season, but freeing up the money by moving McLeod allows the Oilers to re-sign both Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, who will help move the needle if they can continue to develop as well as they have been over the last couple of seasons. At the end of the day, this trade could go down as one of the most one-sided deals in NHL history, and it favours the Oilers.
