Evaluating new Sabres forward Ryan McLeod

The Buffalo Sabres announced Friday that they have traded top prospect Matthew Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers for center Ryan McLeod and forward prospect Tyler Tullio. The trade was a clear move to immediately upgrade the forward corps by adding McLeod, 24. He will immediately slot into the third-line center role, improving the depth at center and taking a lot of pressure off Peyton Krebs.

The value of a trade is hard to pin down, especially since the Sabres have a glut of top prospects at forward and the Oilers have plenty of depth at center. Preference certainly played a role in which team Edmonton wanted to acquire. Positional value also weighed in. The Sabres were likely to move Savoie to the wing with Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius in the center pipeline.

The “winner” and “loser” of a trade like this can’t be determined on day one, so let’s focus on what the Sabres acquired to improve the 2024-25 roster. McLeod is a unique player in the NHL, and the Sabres should be able to use him to his full potential.

Ryan McLeod

Speed

Courtesy of NHL.com

The first thing you’ll notice about McLeod is his speed. It’s hard to impress people with your skating when you have Connor McDavid as your teammate, but with McLeod, it’s remarkable. NHL Edge’s speed skating stats put him in elite territory. He had the 10th-highest top speed in the NHL last season, and the fifth-highest total speed over 20 miles per hour.

Only Nathan MacKinnon, McDavid, Brayden Point and Roope Hintz have had more spikes over 20 mph. Since they are all first-line pivots, McLeod is unique in that his skating ability complements a sixth-line midfield role.

Ryan McLeod’s highlights for 2023-24
Some fun goals here#Sabers

(The last one is definitely a McDavid highlight, but it’s one of those McDavid highlights) pic.twitter.com/RwLv1V0dsN

— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) July 5, 2024

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Attributes

As for his attributes, McLeod’s ability to play defense suits his game well. He consistently forces play in the offensive zone and his shot attempts largely favor his team when he is on the ice. He is also a good playmaker and finisher, providing offensive elements to complement his game. On the penalty kill, his speed and size, at 6’3″, help put pressure on the outside and lead to turnovers for easy clears or shorthanded counterattacks.

Interestingly, his best opponent is Zach Benson, who at 18 has shown a knack for forechecking, running the play and creating offense. Benson doesn’t have McLeod’s top-end speed, but both could be a threat to face on Buffalo’s third line.

Pius Suter is another interesting player, as he was a big part of the Vancouver Canucks’ record last season. Suter is similar to McLeod in that he is responsible defensively as a center, but can play in the lineup as a winger and contribute offensively. Suter has 29 points in 67 games, while McLeod has 30 points in 81 games for the Oilers.

Range adjustment

The Sabres’ lineup looks much more balanced now, with McLeod slotting in at No. 3 on the forward list. Here’s a look at what the Sabres’ forward lines could look like in October, given the Krebs signing and no other moves.

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Zach Benson – Ryan McLeod – Jordan Greenway

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Sam Lafferty/Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Before the trade, Krebs was one injury away from becoming Buffalo’s second-line center. He hasn’t shown much to suggest he’d thrive in that role, so moving him to the fourth line is a much better fit for positional depth.

McLeod slots in between Benson and Greenway, who were very good as a defensive duo during stretches with Cozens last season. Cozens is now free to handle more offensive duties as he looks to recapture his 31-goal form from 2022-23.

Ideally, the Sabres would make another trade to move Zucker to the third line, as he is no longer the top-six producer he once was. That would give the Sabres more flexibility in the top nine and allow for better adjustments in case of injury.

Still, the roster looks much stronger with McLeod in the mix. They’re a fringe playoff team according to PuckLuck’s stats right now, which is more than they’ve been able to say in a long time.

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Adjustment system with Ruff

An interesting tidbit about McLeod and the current Sabres staff is that his brother, Michael, played under new head coach Lindy Ruff in New Jersey. Off-ice issues with Michael aside, he thrived under Ruff as a physical, defensive playmaker. Michael McLeod was also an elite faceoff player, winning 65 percent of his faceoffs in 2023-24.

Ryan McLeod hasn’t had as much success in faceoffs, winning 50.8 percent of his faceoffs last season. He does, however, play a similar role. Ryan is a more offensively gifted player and not as physical as his brother, but he’s still someone who can be trusted in a faceoff role and fits well into Ruff’s scheme.

Conclusion

Trading a “could-be” for a known is a risky bet, but generally speaking, it’s a safer move for the team receiving the known. In that sense, the Sabres were wise to trade McLeod to fill an immediate need on the roster.

Can Matthew Savoie become a top-tier producer, even as a right winger? Sure, but given the clutter of players on his same development path, someone had to be sacrificed to improve the 2024-25 team.

It will be interesting to look back on this trade in five years. In the meantime, the Sabres have acquired a versatile, analytically sound center and a top first-round prospect who has yet to prove himself.