Confirmed Trade: [BUF/EDM] Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio for Matt Savoie

threeVo

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Im not reading this entire thread, but the Sabres slightly overpaid form a position of massive strength to fill a massive hole in their org depth. Mcleod is only 24 and a RFA, slots right into the rest of the core of the roster. The Sabres are way harder to play against now than they were 2 weeks ago. Their top 6 is very young, and very cost controlled or signed long term. Thompson, Tuch, Quinn, Peterka, Cozens are all good players. Savoie would have to crack that group + pass the player who beat him out for a roster spot (Benson).

The Sabres have 4 Matt Savoies in their system, they have no bottom 6 depth. People are acting like a 5'9 winger is going to come in and put up 80 points when its far more likely he was going to bounce between the NHL and AHL next year and be stuck playing 3rd line minutes and not getting any PP time.
 

TageGod

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From an outsider's perspective:

1. Very poor asset management/negotiation skills from Kevyn Adams. A two-year-old 9th overall pick who is projecting well for a dime-a-dozen NHLer like McLeod that you can pick up in free agency is just bad, there's no way around it. Add to the fact that Edmonton had little leverage because of their cap situation and it's even worse. I understand trading Savoie, but McLeod is a strange target.

2. Obviously Buffalo is putting high value on speed this offseason, so they targeted McLeod. He fills a need for them up front and still has some untapped offensive potential he could hit.

3. Savoie probably isn't valued as high league-wide as he is on here or amongst fans. He's an undersized guy already with some injury concerns. He likely ends up on wing and has boom or bust potential and a much higher ceiling than McLeod, albeit lower floor.

Overall I think Savoie is being overrated but it's still and inexcusable trade for Buffalo given the circumstances. He was one of Buffalo's better trade chips and I think they will regret not parlaying him into something better, even if it required more patience.
Kind of funny as Savoie was their fastest prospect and competing for 3C. The whole boom bust thing is odd, he is basically Benson with higher speed and scoring but less playmaking. His floor is third liner ceiling first liner.
 

Bryanbryoil

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Bizarre trade for Edmonton. Savoie won’t help them at all when they’re in their Cup window, if ever, while McLeod was the best player in their bottom six. Maybe it makes sense if they’re able to flip Savoie in a package for a better player than McLeod at the trade deadline.
I mean McLeod was better than 39 year old Corey Perry and 37 year old Derek Ryan in the playoffs. He most certainly wasn't better than Henrique, Brown or Janmark.
 

McFlyingV

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Feb 22, 2013
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Bizarre trade for Edmonton. Savoie won’t help them at all when they’re in their Cup window, if ever, while McLeod was the best player in their bottom six. Maybe it makes sense if they’re able to flip Savoie in a package for a better player than McLeod at the trade deadline.
McLeod was healthy scratched, provided no physicality or scoring, and had 2 or 3 terrible giveaways in the first 2 rounds to give the other team life in games the Oilers had in full control.

How does he not fit Edmonton's cup window? If McDavid and Draisaitl re-sign he fits it perfectly providing an ELC for year 1+2 of Draisaitl's extension and year 1 of McDavid's extension.
 
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Skolman

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Im not reading this entire thread, but the Sabres slightly overpaid form a position of massive strength to fill a massive hole in their org depth. Mcleod is only 24 and a RFA, slots right into the rest of the core of the roster. The Sabres are way harder to play against now than they were 2 weeks ago. Their top 6 is very young, and very cost controlled or signed long term. Thompson, Tuch, Quinn, Peterka, Cozens are all good players. Savoie would have to crack that group + pass the player who beat him out for a roster spot (Benson).

The Sabres have 4 Matt Savoies in their system, they have no bottom 6 depth. People are acting like a 5'9 winger is going to come in and put up 80 points when its far more likely he was going to bounce between the NHL and AHL next year and be stuck playing 3rd line minutes and not getting any PP time.
I really don't think Sabres fans know what they're getting in McLeod...
 

SeanMoneyHands

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McLeod has 75pts in 219GP for the Oilers. I think he could be a top 6 forward if he hits his stride in Buffalo. He would be on the wing as he's not taking Thompsons or Cozens spot at center. If Buffalo does give him a shot in a top 6 role, I wouldn't be shocked to see him get an opportunity on Thompson's wing.

He's got good wheels, just not that high of an IQ offensively. His best asset is his ability to kill penalties very well.
 

Dubi Doo

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Sure, but why not just sign any of the like 20 available 20-30pt boring guys instead of trading your recent 9th overall pick with 1st line potential?

I can’t see a single way to spin this in a positive way for Buffalo
They dealt from a position of strength to obtain an asset they desperately needed. They have a vision for their team for once- speed and hard to play against. McLeod brings the speed they want and the two-way play they need in a 3C. The facts he's a center just hitting his prime and has steadily been improving makes him a hot commodity.

There's the positive spin. Pay the piper to win more hockey games.
 

Freaky Styley

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Kind of funny as Savoie was their fastest prospect and competing for 3C. The whole boom bust thing is odd, he is basically Benson with higher speed and scoring but less playmaking. His floor is third liner ceiling first liner.
The bust thing is related to his size and mainly his injury concerns. If he can't handle the NHL physicality there's not much room for him in the league. He probably doesn't last very long if he can't hack it in the top 6.

I'm not saying that's the likely outcome but it's still a possibility. I believe in his ability if he can stay healthy.
 

Ed Ned and Leddy

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They dealt from a position of strength to obtain an asset they desperately needed. They have a vision for their team for once- speed and hard to play against. McLeod brings the speed they want and the two-way play they need in a 3C. The facts he's a center just hitting his prime and has steadily been improving makes him a hot commodity.

There's the positive spin. Pay the piper to win more hockey games.

A 3C with these qualities would've been a good add for the Sabres. McLeod only has one.
 
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Pass the Saitl Sauce

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McLeod has 75pts in 219GP for the Oilers. I think he could be a top 6 forward if he hits his stride in Buffalo. He would be on the wing as he's not taking Thompsons or Cozens spot at center. If Buffalo does give him a shot in a top 6 role, I wouldn't be shocked to see him get an opportunity on Thompson's wing.

He's got good wheels, just not that high of an IQ offensively. His best asset is his ability to kill penalties very well.
The problem with that logic is that in those 219 games he’s had ample opportunity with mcdrai
 

Skolman

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They dealt from a position of strength to obtain an asset they desperately needed. They have a vision for their team for once- speed and hard to play against. McLeod brings the speed they want and the two-way play they need in a 3C. The facts he's a center just hitting his prime and has steadily been improving makes him a hot commodity.

There's the positive spin. Pay the piper to win more hockey games.
Acquiring McLeod doesn't make you harder to play against, it's the exact opposite actually.

McLeod also hasn't steadily improving, he was a ghost in the playoffs. Majority of Oiler fans wanted him gone for a reason
 

TageGod

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What I don’t really get is, their whole farm system is small wingers. Why trade the
The bust thing is related to his size and mainly his injury concerns. If he can't handle the NHL physicality there's not much room for him in the league. He probably doesn't last very long if he can't hack it in the top 6.

I'm not saying that's the likely outcome but it's still a possibility. I believe in his ability if he can stay healthy.
he has had a couple injuries. He is also built much tankier than Benson. Could just be bad luck. Maybe poor technique on his second injury.
 

threeVo

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I really don't think Sabres fans know what they're getting in McLeod...
I dont think you realize I am not only referencing McLeod its Lafferty, and the other smaller moves they made. The Sabres 12 forwards any given night were soft as warm butter. They finally have some actual role players for once that can skate on top of that. It was a joke.
 

Dubi Doo

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Acquiring McLeod doesn't make you harder to play against, it's the exact opposite actually.

McLeod also hasn't steadily improving, he was a ghost in the playoffs. Majority of Oiler fans wanted him gone for a rereason.
I specifically said two-way play for a reason.

A 3C with these qualities would've been a good add for the Sabres. McLeod only has one.
Two-way play is the key word there. Speedy, two-way players are absolutely a PITA to play against.
 

Freaky Styley

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What I don’t really get is, their whole farm system is small wingers. Why trade the

he has had a couple injuries. He is also built much tankier than Benson. Could just be bad luck. Maybe poor technique on his second injury.
Ya I don't know the details I just think it probably lowered his trade value amongst GMs. Which if it were the case, I would have just held him and traded a different prospect from Buffalo who has a lower upside.

Body type doesn't always play into it but yes being tankier does help. A lot of it has to do with being smart and avoiding contact. I'm not sure how he suffered those injuries - does he do a good job of keeping himself out of danger?
 

Yatzhee

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Aug 5, 2010
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Funny he was stuck because of contract reasons with WHL and got hurt. There isn’t another Savoie in their pipeline. Not a single player in there is first line potential, not Benson, not Konsta, certainly not Kulich or Rosen. They traded a potential Marner for a player that is worth 3x3 in FA. He will be missed, maybe not if we make playoffs this year, but he will.
No, he won't. If you honestly believe Adams made this trade because he's desperate or just dumb, your only lying to yourself. As the GM of the organization he determined this trade based on information he has, not merely to bring in a 3rd line center. You may not like the trade, but to pretend we know better than the guy who's job it is to watch every detail of a prospects development is, to be quite frank, laughable.
 

K1900L

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Dec 27, 2019
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Do you like this move if you're Savoie?

You get out of Buffalo and might get to sniff some playoff-minutes with McDrai, of course.
But personally? If he is added to the roster next season, even just for some games, he'll likely be in a bottom 6 role and won't get any minutes, especially not in the o-zone.

Or he gets rushed into a new team and feels the pressure right away because he's on the big stage from the get-go.

For personal development, staying in a rather quiet environment in Buffalo for more time might had been better for him.

However, if the Oilers don't plan on adding him to the roster in foreseeable future (the next 1-2 years), it doesn't really make any difference. But would the Oilers have traded a rather young and solid bottom 6 player if this was the case? Doesn't it imply that they'd try to implement him rather quickly? F.e. if Skinner and other depth pieces are gone next summer?
 

Freaky Styley

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Savoie at the very least is a pretty nice trade piece at the tdl as oilers don’t have their 25 first
This is what bugs me most as an Avs fan. I was happy when they traded it on draft day. Obviously these talks started then so it makes more sense now why that happened. But yes Savoie could really net them a boon on deadline day.
 
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Dubi Doo

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This is what bugs me most as an Avs fan. I was happy when they traded it on draft day. Obviously these talks started then so it makes more sense now why that happened. But yes Savoie could really net them a boon on deadline day.
I dont know. If he hits, they have a damn fine player on an ELC. Key word is if, though.
 
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TageGod

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Do you like this move if you're Savoie?

You get out of Buffalo and might get to sniff some playoff-minutes with McDrai, of course.
But personally? If he is added to the roster next season, even just for some games, he'll likely be in a bottom 6 role and won't get any minutes, especially not in the o-zone.

Or he gets rushed into a new team and feels the pressure right away because he's on the big stage from the get-go.

For personal development, staying in a rather quiet environment in Buffalo for more time might had been better for him.

However, if the Oilers don't plan on adding him to the roster in foreseeable future (the next 1-2 years), it doesn't really make any difference. But would the Oilers have traded a rather young and solid bottom 6 player if this was the case? Doesn't it imply that they'd try to implement him rather quickly? F.e. if Skinner and other depth pieces are gone next summer?
Something felt off the way the organization treated him last year. He got 3 minutes of ice time after his injury and they sent him back. I think they just fell in love with average joe Kulich for some reason and decided he was the person to move this whole time. Meanwhile Rosen is a career Ahler most likely.
 

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