Trade: C Ryan McLeod - Oilers for Matt Savoie

[Taro T]

24 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Yeah, what Lindy does with both special teams really fascinates me.

I liked Greenway and Cozens in that role last year, and I like Tuch there as well.

But the Sabres added a ton of guys who have done that job elsewhere and done it well.

Samuelsson will be the key guy on the back end. I disagree a bit on Power. I thought he grew into the role as they fed him more minutes as the season progressed.

He has the length and hockey IQ to excel in the role as he gains experience.

Clifton would be the 3rd and I'd go with Dahlin as #4. Donnie prefered to save him for more 5-on5 minutes, but I think Byram's presence should ease that need somewhat.

Lindy has a history of balanced deployment in terms of minutes, so it will be interesting to see where that goes.

Lindy has historically deployed minutes in a balanced fashion on the back line.  But he never had a Dahlin before.

He's going to ride Ras hard.

But not sure if Ras will be the 4 or the 5 as far as rotation into the PK is concerned.  Remember, he tends to be the D-man in the box if one took the 2 minutes.  Jokiharju is decent on the PK.  Could see him or the new guy (if he's not the 7) slotting in front of Dahlin usually on the PK.

[Big Guava]

5 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Some re-draft thoughts re: McLeod and Savoie. 

McLeod went 40th in 2018. He is 17th in games played and points from that class.  If 2018 was redrafted he is most definitely a 1st rd pick, maybe top 25. 

Savoie went 9th. I think his injury history and his failure to rise to the occasion on the biggest stages since (underwhelming performances in the World Juniors and Mem Cup) have lowered his stock. He’s still a first rounder on redraft, but might go late teens or maybe low 20’s  

I’ve seen some twitter stuff about the Oilers getting a 9th oa for a 40th oa. This is quite misleading, though Savoie still has the much higher ceiling if he hits. 

Also, a player who is linked to this trade by the impact it has on his roster position is Krebs.  He was 17th in the 2019 draft  he is 6th in GP and 16th in points in the class. Way too soon to call him a bust, though perhaps not too soon to say he isn’t likely to hit as high as what we hoped when considering he was a centre-piece of the Eichel trade. 
 

 

 

 

 

We still have 10 players like Savoie, we need more players like McLeod.

It's about balance. The team needs to be properly balanced with varying skill sets.

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[That Aud Smell]

11 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

 

We still have 10 players like Savoie, we need more players like McLeod.

It's about balance. The team needs to be properly balanced with varying skill sets.

Spreadsheet fandom had Sabre fans crying the blues on Twitter.

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Wow, he is good on the rush, it would appear 

[Brawndo]

10 hours ago, Mr. Allen said:

So we shopped him?  

Yes, he was the prospect they were offering in trade negotiations 

[nfreeman]

11 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Yes, he was the prospect they were offering in trade negotiations 

Interesting.  So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

[GoPuckYourself]

46 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Interesting.  So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

I believe all of those guys offered better defensive responsibility.

[Doohickie]

5 hours ago, JohnC said:

You make a keen observation about an organization objectively evaluating their team and season. The penetrating questions were asked: What happened and what do we have to do differently to get across the finish line. Edmonton recognized that scoring had to be spread out more widely beyond the big two. They took decisive actions to make the corrections. That's good management. 

Perhaps, but maybe the correct answer was to shore up the defense?

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Yes, he was the prospect they were offering in trade negotiations 

Interesting.  So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

Not necessarily.  It's not that the Sabres gave up on him, it's that they thought he could best get what they wanted by trading him.

[Thorny]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

That helper at the :19 second mark is a beauty 

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Perhaps, but maybe the correct answer was to shore up the defense?

I'm not saying the defense can't be improved but scoring was not spread out enough. At the end of the last game, McDavid was on the ice so long that he was exhausted. He understandably ran out of gas. Edmonton was too reliant on McDavid and Draisaitl. Getting Skinner on a Sabre subsidized contract from the buyout certainly should help with the goal scoring. And maybe Savoie will add more offense for another line? Even if the defense needs to be upgraded, the front office at least addressed one of their needs. 

[Doohickie]

Just now, JohnC said:

I'm not saying the defense can't be improved but scoring was not spread out enough. At the end of the last game, McDavid was on the ice so long that he was exhausted. He understandably ran out of gas.

Could that not have been deployment problem?  How often did the Oilers do that throughout the season?  Did it work?  Maybe the reason the scoring was that concentrated is that other players just didn't get the ice time at critical junctures.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

Interesting.  So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

His value to them had been dropping for a while. 
 

It’s comparing apples to oranges, but the Ringer did a study of baseball prospects who were traded by the team that originally compared to those the team decided to keep. The prospects who remained with the team fared better in their careers.  The thought process is the original team knows the strengths and weaknesses of each player better.  It would be interesting to see if this is applicable to the NHL.  
 

Playing along side 97 or 29 will certainly help Savoie though . 

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Could that not have been deployment problem?  How often did the Oilers do that throughout the season?  Did it work?  Maybe the reason the scoring was that concentrated is that other players just didn't get the ice time at critical junctures.

Their two best players are scintillating talents. I can understand why there would be a temptation to over-rely on this duo. Sometimes in the long run it doesn't work in your favor. If you look at the last two Cup winners, the talent was more widespread. I just believe that adding Skinner fills a need. And maybe the Savoie addition will help with spreading out the offense???

[tom webster]

13 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Their two best players are scintillating talents. I can understand why there would be a temptation to over-rely on this duo. Sometimes in the long run it doesn't work in your favor. If you look at the last two Cup winners, the talent was more widespread. I just believe that adding Skinner fills a need. And maybe the Savoie addition will help with spreading out the offense???

Savoie likely spends the year in the minors.

[Taro T]

33 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

His value to them had been dropping for a while. 
 

It’s comparing apples to oranges, but the Ringer did a study of baseball prospects who were traded by the team that originally compared to those the team decided to keep. The prospects who remained with the team fared better in their careers.  The thought process is the original team knows the strengths and weaknesses of each player better.  It would be interesting to see if this is applicable to the NHL.  
 

Playing along side 97 or 29 will certainly help Savoie though . 

It's what Murray always said was his plan.  HE knew which of the Sabres prospects would come close to their ceilings and to trade the   their value went down.  Of course, pretty sure everybody tries to do that too.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Their two best players are scintillating talents. I can understand why there would be a temptation to over-rely on this duo. Sometimes in the long run it doesn't work in your favor. If you look at the last two Cup winners, the talent was more widespread. I just believe that adding Skinner fills a need. And maybe the Savoie addition will help with spreading out the offense???

Yeah, maybe it will work for them, but I also think they probably need to look at team defense.

[GrassValleyGreg]

Confirms some whispers I heard of Jack Drury as the target. That’s a shame, like him as a player a bit more than McCleod. Will likely continue to grow as a dominant FO guy. 
The two will now be linked in Sabres fans’ eyes moving forward. Praying we didn’t settle for the bride’s maid.

[B-U-F-F-A-L-O]

On 7/5/2024 at 2:05 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:

I’m pretty sure this is sarcasm, but it is a huge pressure release trade.  We all knew (as did the rest of the NHL) that we couldn’t enter next season with Krebs pencilled in the 3C.  This move gives us a legit 2-way 3C who kills penalties, wins draws and who is young enough and cheap enough to be a piece for the next few years.  It also removed a forward from our logjam of forward prospects.  I might agree that this move is “boring”, but the 2024/25 Sabres are better now than they were this morning. 

We had no 3C, now we do. That’s intense, man! We did f-fen something!

There are now six new Buffalo Sabres! It’s possible yet another trade is coming.

i was calling for new third and fourth lines, and they F-fen did it!

We are way grittier now, way tougher to play! The top lines have support for the first time since they turned around their games. TNT doesn’t have to do everything himself anymore! He will not be manning the PK nor double shifting as much. I say his goals go up from playing less. I’d like that seventh new Sabre, a top six LW…. It would give us certain depth at the skill areas. It would give us an impressive lineup throughout.

I hope we get him. It would be intense if we did…. If not, it still will be exciting. If we don’t get one I think we need Benny to make a big jump this fall. If he could fill that #2 LW spot we’ll be fine. In fact, Benny is the perfect player to have there with Cozens and Quinn. They are both goal scorers, I’d call Cozens a natural the way he skates in the zone shoots and scores, naturally. I’d call Quinn an elite scorer. If he gains the muscle mass needed to be stronger on his skates and the muscle needed to stay healthy, he’ll surpass 30 Gs easy (if his linemates also remain healthy). Benson is perfect for them. Said to have tremendous vision and able to see the play, he can act as the offensive center setting up both and knocking in some rebounds. Healthy, if Benson can really play way above his age, we’ll be fine. 
so, all the pressure is on: JJ, TNT, Tuch, Benson, Cozens and Quinn. They have to score a lot of goals.

Though I think we have a real 3rd line that can support the team in many ways. Zucker is a two-way player and supplies the 3rd line with a scorer. McLeod offers a ton of skills as we have seen above. He should get more ice time but he has to learn his new mates. Hopefully, Greenie is excited and ready to rock, and they play real tough two way hockey and knock some in.

The great hope for the fourth line is that they supply energy to the whole team and can help to rest the top two lines without a let down. I’d love to see the boards waving from heavy forechecks and to see the other look confused, readjusting their helmets, wanting to just get off the ice and letting in a few goals…. To hear the crowd go nuts. To see the 1st line return with vigor! Thanks guys, we’ve got it now!  If this is the finished roster, All the sabres kids need to get stronger. To not get easily bumped or flustered. To be faster and quicker. Especially Quinn and JJ but at some point we are going to look at Kulich and Rosen for major support because we’re playing f-fen hockey and players miss time. Maybe Helenius shocks the Sabres this fall? They have to make that sixth top six player with the guys they do have, I think they can. If everyone works their ***** off….

[LGR4GM]

There's more to life than fancy stats for sure. I am just pointing out that for the last 13 years, most of the analytics community has dumped on the Sabres and the moves they made. This summer, not so much. Idk if McLeod can have the same impact that Cirelli has had, I think that is part of the risk. But for the first time in forever, I don't look at microstats and see red with some more red on top of red when we add these types of dudes. Again, analytics are not the end all be all, but they are a good starting point when the eye test has failed this team for over a decade. 

[That Aud Smell]

12 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Idk if McLeod can have the same impact that Cirelli has had, I think that is part of the risk. 

I don't follow the league closely enough to know who Cirelli is. Blame it on the Sabres' drought.

Would "Cirelli Lite" play here? It sounds like they're too close on the analytics to damn McLeod with such faint praise.

If we can somehow snag a true top-6 forward, I will be fully on board with the upcoming season.

I mean, given what's been done so far, I'm on board already. It's just that I'm also furtively looking around the vessel, checking marine forecasts, seeing if there are enough life jackets, etc.

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I don't follow the league closely enough to know who Cirelli is. Blame it on the Sabres' drought.

Would "Cirelli Lite" play here? It sounds like they're too close on the analytics to damn McLeod with such faint praise.

If we can somehow snag a true top-6 forward, I will be fully on board with the upcoming season.

I mean, given what's been done so far, I'm on board already. It's just that I'm also furtively looking around the vessel, checking marine forecasts, seeing if there are enough life jackets, etc.

Cirelli is Tampa's 3C & people here have been pining for him for at least 1/2 a decade as surely THIS'LL be the year they can't keep everyone.  Well, that year finally came & Cirelli is still there but Stamkos & Sergachev aren't.

[Flashsabre]

16 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Interesting.  So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

There is a story going around online that Savoie missed curfew the night before his debut and then blamed Krebs for it. They were not going to play him at all but his parents flew in for the game so they gave him the least amount of ice time possible. The Sabres sent him back to juniors.

Again, a story I have read but there are no sources to back it up so take it with a grain of salt.

Edited July 8 by Flashsabre