Oilers trade Ryan McLeod to Sabres: What it means for both teams

The Buffalo Sabres have traded 20-year-old forward Matt Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Ryan McLeod and forward Tyler Tullio.

Savoie, the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has played just one NHL game and eight AHL games with the Sabres in the two years since being drafted. McLeod, 24, has four goals in 24 playoff games for the Oilers this season after recording a career-high 30 points in 81 regular-season games while averaging 14:14 of ice time per night. Tullio, a fifth-round pick in 2020, has nine goals and 21 points in AHL play this season.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said repeatedly this offseason that he had told teams around the league he was willing to trade draft picks and prospects in a deal that would help Buffalo improve its NHL roster. He traded a second-round NHL draft pick to Washington for Beck Malenstyn, a 26-year-old forward known for his physicality and defensive play. McLeod is an addition who could slot higher up the Sabres’ roster. And trading Savoie, who was one of the top prospects in the Buffalo organization, shows the Sabres believe in what McLeod can bring.

What do the Sabres get with McLeod?

McLeod is one of the fastest players in the NHL, according to NHL tracking data. He had a top speed of 23.82 mph last season and has recorded 373 bursts of speed over 20 mph. Both rank among the best in the NHL. The Sabres added a lot of speed to their bottom six players last week, acquiring Malenstyn and signing Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty.

They also added Jason Zucker, who still figures to bring speed to the lineup at age 32. Clearly, that was a priority for Buffalo this summer. McLeod’s offensive production hasn’t been seen in the NHL yet, but he’s been a capable two-way player for the Oilers and is expected to be the Sabres’ third-line center. He’s also from Mississauga, Ont., so he’ll now be playing closer to home. He has one year left on his contract at a $2.1 million cap hit.

What do the Oilers get with Savoie?

Savoie has battled injuries the past two seasons but has been one of the WHL’s most productive players since being drafted. He had 71 points in 34 regular-season WHL games last season, then added 10 goals and 24 points in 19 playoff games while leading Moose Jaw to the WHL championship. The Sabres have plenty of depth in their prospect pool, especially after adding another center, Konsta Helenius, in the first round of the draft last week.

They also have two other highly touted centers in 2022 first-rounders Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich. And 2023 second-rounder Anton Wahlberg also played center. So it was likely Savoie would be moved to the wing in the NHL, and Buffalo wasn’t going to have room for every prospect in its system. Savoie is from Edmonton, so he gets to play closer to home and has the upside of being an impact player in the NHL in the top six of a team.

Required Reading

(Photo: Andy Devlin/Getty Images)