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

[TheNumber4]

McLeod wasn't getting traded for a 2nd rounder

He was a 2nd round pick himself, one who panned out and was a success at the NHL level. That's worth a first rounder at least.

And yes, a 9th overall has an exponential value advantage over a 20th overall, but there's an injury issue here. Plus Tulio is a bit more interesting than people say.

Overall the Oilers win this trade but it's close

100%

And yes, Mcleod can play 3C. And plays it well. Excels in xGF% in that role. More so than wing where yes next to Drai he put up some points while having a lower xGF%

 

[nbwingsfan]

All these declarative statements from non-Oilers fans about what kind of player McLeod is are just baffling. Like, they just have no basis in reality.

He'll be fine on a team like Buffalo, but if a team like Buffalo wants to be like a winning team, McLeod will have to become a different player than he currently is. The trade may well wake him up - and I hope it does.

There is some risk to Savoie as well, but the Oilers cleared cap for more important players and McLeod had gone as far as he could with this team.

My favourites are the posters saying Buffalo just got tougher and harder to play against just because they saw McLeod is tall.


I don’t think I’ve ever seen a softer big guy in the last decade. He’s horrified of being hit open ice

 

[BurnabyJoe7]

I watched him in Moose Jaw. He didn't look great for a 20-year-old in the dub. Buffalo will win this trade when it is all said and done.

Keller progressed a lot better than Savoie.

Wrong again. Savoie had better stats in his draft -1 year and both played in the same league.

Thanks for participating.

 

[Cup or Bust]

I feel like

Quite the opposite: They have been bad because they HAVEN'T made trades like this (more proven player for a prospect).

They needed a 3rd line center and got it.

McLeod is not a good center, and he is a 4th line center. A good third line center should be able to create some offense. That is the reason the Oilers needed to trade for a 3rd line center. Mcleod wasn't any good in the role. The only points he got in the playoffs were when he played wing with Draisaitl. The only time he did anything offensively in the regular season was also on the wing with Draisaitl. His stats are misleading, he isn't a 30 point bottom 6 player. He does nothing offensively when he centers his own line. If you want a player that plays center and does nothing offensively, those are not hard to find, you don't need to trade a prospect for one. If you are going to trade good prospects for proven players, McLeod was the wrong guy to do it for. If Mcleod could play third line center, the Oilers would have kept him.

 

[Peasy]

Holtz just got traded for a 4th liner and a 3rd. I'm sure a lot of people on HF woulda thought and bet he had more value than that. Wouldnt shock me to see Savoie struggle to find success in the NHL just like holtz has.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I know this is HF; he’s only a prospect. I needed something to read though. Ya’ll provided me with that.

 

[Dirty Dog]

My favourites are the posters saying Buffalo just got tougher and harder to play against just because they saw McLeod is tall.


I don’t think I’ve ever seen a softer big guy in the last decade. He’s horrified of being hit open ice

Most of us are referring to his PK ability and defensive metrics…you know, things that will make the Sabres harder to play against. If you’re talking about literal toughness, Sabres already added players this off-season with a focus on hitting.

 

[Pip]

I’m a fan of McLeod but the team couldn’t wait for him to produce at centre. He was solid defensively, good in the neutral zone etc but you can’t have a third line that doesn’t produce at all. Most of his production came on the wing with Draisaitl. If he can unlock some of that offense at centre then he’ll be a valuable piece. For where the Oilers are at I think the Henrique signing made him redundant even if Henrique is much slower.

 

[bossram]

Think it's a little early to say he won't help Edmonton in the next 2 seasons. He'd be coming in as a complementary winger and would likely be a Skinner replacement or Arvidsson replacement the following year. I'm not sure how you think 3 years of ELC for a guy you might be able to plug into your top 9 is peculiar. The Oilers are built for 3 scoring lines and 1 shut down line (Janmark-Henrique-Brown). This trade makes perfect sense to anyone who has a pulse on the Edmonton Oilers situation.

It is peculiar because you rarely see contenders make a trade for the purposes of acquiring a prospect.

Most of the prospect people I follow don't seem to be really enamoured with Savoie. Can he get some games with the Oilers? Yeah. I don't think he's going to make a big impact for them in the next couple seasons.

 

[SullivanT]

He’s a 49% FO guy and there have been a lot of sabers fans saying that he’s the big physical 3rd line C they need. Hes also a much more effective wing than center FYI.

Wait who's physical? I love McLeod but he was probably our least physical player these playoffs he also looked overwhelmed bad turn overs they even had to pull him out of the lineup. He was absolutely stellar on the pk and has great speed. I think he can and will improve but I don't thinkh they will ever convince him to be physical. Gonna miss him.

Not sure really where Savoie slots in probably have him down in Bakersfield unless he proves he can play in the NHL definitely lots of talent here that could potentially help him thrive balls in his court really.

Overall medium/low risk trade for the Oilers with potential to bring high reward. I try hard not to get too excited about prospects until they have proven themselves, but unless Buffalo knows something like this guy turns into a pumpkin after midnight, then the Oilers seem to have made out fairly well. They dump some cap and get a good prospect for the farm that could either be used as trade bait at the trade deadline or possibly even make the big club

 

[Jage]

McLeod isn’t a good center
More suited to the wing

Maybe so, cannot tell as I dont follow other teams but on the Sabres he is going to be a center. Atleast starting from that position.

He’s a 49% FO guy and there have been a lot of sabers fans saying that he’s the big physical 3rd line C they need. Hes also a much more effective wing than center FYI.

Who is saying he is/was physical or gritty?

 

[sportsdynasty]

Absolutely no one has said that. He’s the very good defensive center we needed. A lot people seem to be struggling to grasp the difference, but when Sabres fans say we got “harder to play against,” we don’t mean “hits go brrrrr”.

McCloud is not a "very good defensive center". With Oilers, he couldn't play center well, so he was moved to wing. He's good on the PK and good at skating. It's future-oriented hopeful thinking to say he's a good defensive 3C, since McCloud has never been a good defensive 3C so far in his career.

 

[Frank Drebin]

my only guess is that buffalo knows something we all don't about savoie.

That’s what I thought about Washington and ff at the time too

 

[RestlessYoungZero]

McLeod wasn't getting traded for a 2nd rounder

He was a 2nd round pick himself, one who panned out and was a success at the NHL level. That's worth a first rounder at least.

And yes, a 9th overall has an exponential value advantage over a 20th overall, but there's an injury issue here. Plus Tulio is a bit more interesting than people say.

Overall the Oilers win this trade but it's close

Just because a 2nd rounder made the NHL means their worth a first round pick at least??? That's freaking delusional.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

It is peculiar because you rarely see contenders make a trade for the purposes of acquiring a prospect.

Most of the prospect people I follow don't seem to be really enamoured with Savoie. Can he get some games with the Oilers? Yeah. I don't think he's going to make a big impact for them in the next couple seasons.

this trade was mainly to get cap compliant....McLeod is redundant and makes too much money
I honestly expected a 2nd round pick for him considering the Oilers need to get under the cap

even if Savoie's ceiling is only a 2nd line winger, this is a massive homerun for the Oilers

 

[Gabrielor]

Both fan bases trying to make the argument they some how won the trade easily.

Hear me out..... maybe it was a fair trade.

It was a fair trade.

Buffalo got what it wanted.

Edmonton fans got what they wanted.

The overreactions of fleecing either way are ridiculous. Erat for Forsberg is no comp, it's just a line to gain attention.

 

[WarriorofTime]

McLeod wasn't getting traded for a 2nd rounder

He was a 2nd round pick himself, one who panned out and was a success at the NHL level. That's worth a first rounder at least.

That's not how it works. He's an Arb-Eligible RFA after this upcoming season and is close to UFA. How players fit in from a cap standpoint, how easy they are to replace via "UFA off the street" signings as well as from promoting internally all factors in. Plenty of "non-busts" return lower than their draft capital once they're in the thick of it with their careers.

 

[Gordian Knot]

100% McLeod is better than Henrique.

I like Holloway, but all of the other 4 are old, and dont play the game like McLeod does. Feet always moving trying to make something happen. None have close to the motor McLeod has, and come playoff time you need more those guys.

Didn't know we had prime Lindros in our line up, we must have played him too low and way too light minutes. Hopefully Sabres give him top 6 time.

What? lol
The Sabres have a plethora of top 6 potential prospects.. Their pipeline is literally over flowing with them. 13 seasons of no playoffs will do that to a pipe line, it will also afford the opportunity to address immediate roster need with those assets.
There are questions on Savoie, which have arisen from multiple Sabres fans based media outlets and forums. He's often injured for starters, disappears in critical moments another. These have been discussed on wgr550 from time to time and multiple fan forums with those who follow Sabres prospects very closely.

So you are saying there is more of these type of trades of coming because you just have too much of those great prospects. Good that you already have Oilers number, please give a call when you are ready for the next move, we gather something from bottom of the barrel.

 

[Cup or Bust]

It was a fair trade.

Buffalo got what it wanted.

Edmonton fans got what they wanted.

The overreactions of fleecing either way are ridiculous. Erat for Forsberg is no comp, it's just a line to gain attention.

If Buffalo was trying to acquire a decent third line center, then they definitely didn't get what they wanted. If they wanted an average depth player that will not produce much offense, then yes.

 

[bossram]

this trade was mainly to get cap compliant....McLeod is redundant and makes too much money
I honestly expected a 2nd round pick for him considering the Oilers need to get under the cap

even if Savoie's ceiling is only a 2nd line winger, this is a massive homerun for the Oilers

I literally said in the first line of my first post on this that the main purpose of the trade was cap relief. Thanks for telling me something I know.

I don't think it's a bad trade for EDM at all. It gets them a useful trade chip. My main contention is against people calling this a "fleece" because they think Savoie is an elite prospect. He's not.

 

[Nicko999]

I would like to offer you Rasmussen for Reinbacher then please.

Obviously I wouldn't do it but value wise it's not as lopsided it might seem. Also Reinbacher is not a smallish forward and the likelihood of him busting is less than Savoie.

My point is we tend to overrate pretty much all high pick prospect. Sometimes they pan out but a lot of times they end up busting. That being said, Buffalo ended up overpaying for McLeod no doubt about it.

 

[schuelma24]

I think 2 things can be true at once:

1- In a vacuum, it makes some logical sense for Buffalo. They need to get better right now and need a different kind of player. And Savoie does have questions.

2- This trade is evidence of absolutely horrible long term GMing in that you're trading away the 9th pick from 2 years ago for a bottom 6 center with the *hope* of making the playoffs. (and before Sabres fans check my history and find out I'm a Wings fan..yes, Yzerman having to give up a 2nd to move Walman is bad GM'ing too..although I'd argue it's nothing on this scale.) If that's where you are after all of these high picks, that means you've really messed up to get to this point.

 

[Pucklington]

It was a fair trade.

Buffalo got what it wanted.

Edmonton fans got what they wanted.

The overreactions of fleecing either way are ridiculous. Erat for Forsberg is no comp, it's just a line to gain attention.

Forsberg was just a prospect when acquired, and Erat was a far better player than McLeod.

It is conceivable that Savoie is a better player than McLeod by next season.

Is McLeod bad? No. Decent 3rd line winger who can kill penalties, but has consistency issues, and not overly physical.

 

[Half Clapper]

Wrong again. Savoie had better stats in his draft -1 year and both played in the same league.

Thanks for participating.

Keller was playing in the NHL at 19 years old. He had 65 pts in 82 games.

You're clueless...

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

I don't think it's a bad trade for EDM at all. It gets them a useful trade chip. My main contention is against people calling this a "fleece" because they think Savoie is an elite prospect. He's not.

sure, too early to call this a "fleecing" but I think it's a big overpay for Buffalo

McLeod is an average 3rd liner with elite speed but zero grit to his game...and I mean ZERO
maybe the trade wakes him up and he turns into a Cogliano-type player but these guys aren't hard to acquire

arguing semantics here, but Savoie is definitely a blue-chip prospect...over 2PPG in the Dub and almost a PPG in the AHL...his drawbacks are size and injury concerns
the number don't lie