Confirmed with Link: Ryan McLeod & Ty Tullio traded to Buffalo for Matthew Savoie

[CrazyWayne]

Re: Savoie's trade value

If both are true that Adams was shopping Savoie AND he was fishing for a big piece in the top six, this trade makes it pretty clear that Savoie just isn't valued leaguewide the way he is on HF.

Savoie has only played a few games in the pros ahl/NHL but something that seems to stick out was that he was easy to push off the puck and overly relied on his skill (understandable at his age) but when compared to a similar player age size and skill wise in Benson. Based on my eyes it was very different. Benson would show a willingness to use his smaller size as leverage, didn't always work but the willingness was there

Savoie is immensely skilled and playing on a team with mcdavid should open ice for him to use his skill. Will be fun to watch

 

[Reddawg]

Same with Rosen. I don’t view this as an endorsement of his value either

Yeah, there’s pretty much no way our offer didn’t start with Rosen and end up being Savoie.

 

[Matt Ress]

The fan opinion and recon on this guy do not match the analytics. It is very difficult to get a cogent assessment from fans and talking heads that actually match the numbers.

I am guessing the Sabres pro scouts and the analytics department are aligned on his upside as a 3C that can play higher in the lineup if called upon. He's a utility player, and as such, he has limitations. How physical does he need to be? I think they need him first on the puck in that role - then you have players like Zucker/Benson/Krebs/Greenway that can work the boards on that line.

Every bottom six player doesn't need to play physical. You don't want them shying away from contact, or fearful to go to the middle of the ice. We have that same criticism of the Sabres forwards as being perimeter. But my counter to that is that Granato's system was not designed for zone play - it was a wind up O and one-and-done in the zone. All offensive schemes that center around zone play start on the perimeter and work the puck to the front. I don't really see Edmonton playing that system - because they have these players that can basically win the center of the ice with pure skill.

Wait and see for me on how this guy fits into Lindy's system.

I'd bet they targeted McLeod, were working to move a smaller prospect, whittled it down to Savoie (value v. impact on pool) and pulled the trigger making the NHL team better. HF can call it whatever they want but Adams did everything he wanted to do.

There's probably just some lingering disdain for Adams and although I think he can still do more, the Sabres are immensely better than they were a of couple weeks ago and have an identity throughout the lineup.

 

[old kummelweck]

In the post Mitts/Byram trade presser Adams talked about wanting to add a specific type of player.

Interesting point on the Byram trade, it was a trade that seemed to go away from how the team was being built with granato as head coach.

Either way, you're trying to say that Mitts wasn't a good fit, while I can say the same thing about Byram (redundant, not what they lacked) and McLeod (perimeter player, avoids contact).

Adams has been looking for a top 4 D a least since he was attached to Chychrun, it probably even pre-dates the Power draft. You don't have to agree with the talent or agree with the need, but this was a hole he wanted to address and did so. This also addressed his overall contract strategy for roster building by not going long-term on a guy that slotted into his third line.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Adams has been looking for a top 4 D a least since he was attached to Chychrun, it probably even pre-dates the Power draft. You don't have to agree with the talent or agree with the need, but this was a hole he wanted to address and did so. This also addressed his overall contract strategy for roster building by not going long-term on a guy that slotted into his third line.

Right, and I don't agree about Byram being the type of top-4 D, or the contract/cap argument. I've made my points, I don't see the need to keep going over it. Rowley seems to want to though.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Now that Olofsson and Okposo are gone I can focus on hating Krebs.

I'm not hating on Krebs. He and the Sabres' management need to identify his niche, if the latter plans on keeping him. Personally, I don't see a spot for him to flourish here.

Regardless, he's given zero evidence he'd be a competent 3C in the shutdown role the Sabres apparently desire.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

A little odd there was no press ie Zoom, KA availability, etc for this yet, despite the holiday weekend here. Hopefully his agent is not trying to pencil in a ntc into his contract

I'm sure we will hear from both parties on Monday.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Elite prospects has him at 207.

McLeod is 200lb, though this is yet to be confirmed by Craig Rivet.

188 according to the NHL. CapFriendly has him at 201.

Whatever the case, my biggest concern about McLeod is Oilers' fans warning that he shies away from contact. Maybe that can be ameliorated by having Greenway on his wing, but ideally you want your 6'3" uber-fast center to be giving opposing d-men something to think about during puck retrieval on dump-ins.

 

[markpenske]

overall the Sabre fans are trying to justify the trade
and
the Oiler fans can't believe what a great trade they made

 

[BowieSabresFan]

overall the Sabre fans are trying to justify the trade
and
the Oiler fans can't believe what a great trade they made

That’s a rather inaccurate oversimplification.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

1) Sabres continued to improve speed with this deal
2) They added a good face off guy which was a weakness on the team and point brought up here many many times
3) PK core with McLeod-Greenway-Lafferty-etc should be solid and improved.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Trade grades: Sabres sacrifice upside in McLeod-Savoie swap

www.thescore.com

 

[old kummelweck]

or the contract/cap argument.

You don't agree that Adams doesn't want to tie up Mittlestadt money long-term on a third line, or that it's not something he's doing?

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

I both love and hate this trade at the same time. We got a good young player and he fills a clear need. Despite Savoie being the last prospect I wouldve wanted to trade, we have plenty of prospects to overcome his loss and the team is better this season.

But this overpayment (and theres no denying its an overpayment) is the end result of Adams inaction over his tenure here. Instead of making incremental moves to make the team better over the past four years, Suddenly this off season he decided to build an actual roster after spending years sitting on prospects and doing the bare minimum. Trying to fill all those holes at once in one off season is clearly costly.

It's like Adams put himself on a hunger strike in the desert for no reason while having plenty of cash in his pocket. Suddenly when he decides hes hungry, he is finding out that every food vendor will take advantage of that.

That said, the team is improved and I look forward to the season.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

You don't agree that Adams doesn't want to tie up Mittlestadt money long-term on a third line, or that it's not something he's doing?

I don't necessarily peg Mitts as 3C if he stayed, but either way 21 mil for the three of them for the next six years is actually a pretty good value. KA's opinion about it is hard to nail down, but I reject those arguments that have been made here.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

Oiler fan in peace. Buffalo is the closest team to where I live. I've gone to many games and always had a soft spot for them.

I really do like this trade for both teams.

The knocks on McLeod are that he cant produce consistently in a top 6 role, and he played a bit scared in the playoffs when things became more physical, or when we needed to protect a lead.

As far as the top 6 production goes, I don't think Buffalo needs that. They need him to be a fast, 2 way bottom 6 player, and I think he will really improve the Sabres in that regard.

As far as playoff play goes, that's something you can worry about when you get there, but keep in mind... he's young. He just got a lot of key experience under his belt that will help him going forward.

I'm pumped to have Savoie in our system because our cupboards are ugly outside of O'Rielly and Akey - while I think you could afford to give him up.

Enjoy McLeod, I really do think he will have a big year for you guys.

 

[Faceboner]

Adams yes, maybe another GM would have get more. But Kevyn himself is to blame, he accumulated these prospects for too long and now he could not trade from a position of strength.

I thought savoie was our best prospect based on ceiling but he is considered undersized and has basically gotten injured every year since his draft year and also plays a game that could lead to injury. While his season was great he did it while being one of the oldest players in the chl. Did edmonton get better value yes, but how many other 3 c's that are better would cost less. The league knows we are desperate especially adams as they all see him on the hot seat we basically let the whole league know they can strong arm us based on pipeline and the 13 year drought. Maybe buffalo wouldn't have to overpay if stopped being so transparent league wide.

 

[Gabrielor]

Oiler fan in peace. Buffalo is the closest team to where I live. I've gone to many games and always had a soft spot for them.

I really do like this trade for both teams.

The knocks on McLeod are that he cant produce consistently in a top 6 role, and he played a bit scared in the playoffs when things became more physical, or when we needed to protect a lead.

As far as the top 6 production goes, I don't think Buffalo needs that. They need him to be a fast, 2 way bottom 6 player, and I think he will really improve the Sabres in that regard.

As far as playoff play goes, that's something you can worry about when you get there, but keep in mind... he's young. He just got a lot of key experience under his belt that will help him going forward.

I'm pumped to have Savoie in our system because our cupboards are ugly outside of O'Rielly and Akey - while I think you could afford to give him up.

Enjoy McLeod, I really do think he will have a big year for you guys.

Refreshing, since I rooted for you guys the entire cup run, and so far, most EDM fans seem to be acting like dicks about this trade. "LOL we fleeced you!!!"

 

[Gras]

Refreshing, since I rooted for you guys the entire cup run, and so far, most EDM fans seem to be acting like dicks about this trade. "LOL we fleeced you!!!"

They are compensating for losing the Cup.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Taking a day to watch the dust settle — even just a bit — on this trade. Most people online seem to think we lost by a mile, but that means absolutely zero. I think it's very obvious the deal helps the team short-term because there was almost no way Savoie would be in the NHL in 2024-25 with Buffalo. If we are maximizing value, we are using the $6 M to $8 million (guess at this point) we have left to further bolster the roster. Jury out on that until the season starts.

My concern with the deal is mostly whether it is another example of where the Sabres pulling the trigger a bit early and don't quite get the return they should have gotten. To me, that's been the biggest flaw in Pegula era, just not having the leadership or experience on contracts or deals to maximize value. People say well, we have to build credibility, but I think it's the other way around. You show you are shrewd, and that's how you build credibility.

So do I like this deal? Sure, why not? Needed to do something. My concern is minor on this one deal we could have boosted it to get a bit more. My bigger issue is overall, this team needs better leadership at the top to extract more value on an ongoing basis. Whether it's on a $5 M deal for Zucker, $2.5 million overpays for guys like Okposo/Girgensons or deals like this.

GMKA is learning on the job and that's fair enough. He said that himself. But his learning curve is costly. We have a key contract with UPL coming up. The cap hit and pay and whether it is two, three or four years are key. He picked arbitration and the game is on. We have the next way of RFAs coming. Are the Sabres really up to this? And contract negotiation. Do they have A+ NHL management? My worry is it is barely B management with the caveat that scouting looks strong.

 

[TehDoak]

overall the Sabre fans are trying to justify the trade
and
the Oiler fans can't believe what a great trade they made

This is similar to the Malenstyn trade....good addition bad price.

The issue that makes the Malenstyn trade worse is that it was done before markets opened. I.e. Adams didn't know if he could fill that role for free.

With this trade, Adams had already found out that he could, in fact, not fill the role for free. So he had to go out and overpay

Both are overpays, no doubt about it. A contender or better market wouldn't have had to pay this price. But we are at where we are at.

If Savoie does great in Edmonton, then we'll add it to tally of Adams sending out former high draft picks for meh returns.

If Savoie busts and McCleod does great....then Adams gets a gold star.

 

[yahhockey]

Last week: Boooo, Kevyn you suck, make a trade, we need help, we don't have anyone in the organization that can attempt to replace Mitts

This week: Boooo, Kevyn you suck, you traded one of our handful of prospects that when combined with players already on the active roster we have more players than we can legally put on the ice while turning a potential future NHLer into a current NHLer who has shown defensive traits, has speed for days and can attempt to replace Mitts, how dare you sir

lol

Anytime a player is drafted, traded, signed, bought-out or any other type of roster move that may be made the fans aka fanatics opine their thoughts and feelings all the while it will usually be a few years before there is an indication of whether it was the correct or incorrect move. Even if Savoie were to become a 60-80+ point player that still won't mean the Sabres lost the trade if McLeod fits a role and remains with the club while one of the other prospects that weren't traded becomes a contributor in the top six. The reality is it's not Savoie for McLeod it's Savoie for McLeod and the potential future roster spot trading Savoie opened for one of the other prospects (if Savoie becomes a regular NHL player which is still TBD). Obviously Savoie has the higher ceiling however that doesn't mean adding McLeod is a mistake because they are two different types of players.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Right, and I don't agree about Byram being the type of top-4 D, or the contract/cap argument. I've made my points, I don't see the need to keep going over it. Rowley seems to want to though.

We've been round the houses enough already re Byram - it's you who keeping bringing your opinion up about him in every thread - not me.

The only reason i went back to that trade was because Adams talked about his reasoning for the trade in subsequent pressers. FWIW i have just re listened to his TDL presser - he specifically mentions wanting to get faster (circa 12 mins) & wanting to aquire a prototypical '4C' who is good defensively / good at PKing / good at faceoffs (circa 25 mins). Both of those points are very relevant to what we have seen him do this offseason.

You might disagree with the moves he has made - you're perfectly within your right to do so. But you can't accuse him of not having a plan. As @CrazyWayne posted above, i think it was obvious by the TDL if not sooner what his intentions were. He didn't just wake up one morning, decide to fire Granato & make everything else up as he's gone.

For the first time in a while we're actually seeing a plan be well executed in relation to this team.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Oiler fan in peace. Buffalo is the closest team to where I live. I've gone to many games and always had a soft spot for them.

I really do like this trade for both teams.

The knocks on McLeod are that he cant produce consistently in a top 6 role, and he played a bit scared in the playoffs when things became more physical, or when we needed to protect a lead.

As far as the top 6 production goes, I don't think Buffalo needs that. They need him to be a fast, 2 way bottom 6 player, and I think he will really improve the Sabres in that regard.

As far as playoff play goes, that's something you can worry about when you get there, but keep in mind... he's young. He just got a lot of key experience under his belt that will help him going forward.

I'm pumped to have Savoie in our system because our cupboards are ugly outside of O'Rielly and Akey - while I think you could afford to give him up.

Enjoy McLeod, I really do think he will have a big year for you guys.

Most of us our excited for McLeod and see it the way you do. And most of us really like Savoie—he was my favorite of our main forward prospects. I don’t see him as a center and I don’t see top line potential, but I see a very very talented middle six winger that has great energy and drive to his game. I think he’ll be an NHLer, I don’t think he’s boom or bust like others do.

I also think he could be in the NHL this year. But for a top team, I’d let him marinate for a year in the ahl

 

[Uberpecker]

Oilers fans on their board complaining about McLeod being a soft as butter perimeter player and shying away from contact. If that turns out to be case I have a feeling he'll be the next whipping boy pretty quickly in here. Joki, prepare to step aside.