Oilers and Sabres pull surprising trade on Friday!

The Edmonton Oilers are trading forward Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for young forward Matt Savoie.
Friedman believes that Ty Tullio is also headed to Buffalo.

McLeod skated in 81 games for the Oilers this past season and will enter the final year of a two-year, $4.2 million contract that pays him $2.1 million annually. He put up 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points. He also had four goals during the Oilers’ playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Selected in the second round (No. 40 overall) by Edmonton in the 2018 NHL Draft, McLeod has a total of 32 goals and 75 points throughout his NHL career.

As for Savoie, who is just 20 years old, he was selected No. 9 overall in the 2022 draft and has only appeared in one NHL game.

He split the past season with the Moose Jaw Warriors, registering 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points in 23 WHL games, and the AHL’s Rochester Americans, recording two goals and three assists in six contests.

The Oilers drafted Tullio with the 126th overall selection in 2020 and he has spent the last two years playing for the Bakersfield Condors. Tullio has scored 22 goals and 47 points over 117 games in AHL Bakersfield and should slot into a bottom-six role with the Americans next year.

The Oilers are not only freeing up some cap space in the transaction, but also acquiring quite a prospect in Savoie. Many believe he is a top line forward, who could even line up next to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Savoie comes to Edmonton as a cost-effective option who can immediately play in the team’s top six. For a team without a general manager at this time, this is quite a good move!