Trade: C Ryan McLeod - Oilers for Matt Savoie

[bob_sauve28]

I'm McLovin this trade! Great job KA! 

[inkman]

The hockey world scoffed at the Sabres for giving up bonafide superstar in the making Mathew Savoie for a bottom six defensive forward with limited upside.  It seems like a pretty solid trade at this point.  

[WhenWillItEnd66]

It is a small sample size, but this is exactly what the Sabres were missing. That is what made the trade good for the Sabres. He is defensively sound, fast, a bit of grit and some skill. We have missed having someone like that in the bottom 6 for awhile, and now we have 3 or 4 of them. Once the injured speedster comes back it will be better. 

[LGR4GM]

On 7/5/2024 at 4:34 PM, Brawndo said:

Peterka-Tage-Tuch

 Benson-Cozen-Quinn

Zucker-McLeod-Greenway

NAK-Lafferty/Krebs-Malenstyn

 

Looks better then it did this morning 

Amazing how after years of us trying to put lines together that we nailed this basically from the start. Almost like the Sabres built and actual forward group. Still worried about the depth but at least McLeod is rolling. 

Savoie btw has 1g, 2a in 3AHL games. Just in case anyone was curious. 

[shrader]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

The hockey world scoffed at the Sabres for giving up bonafide superstar in the making Mathew Savoie for a bottom six defensive forward with limited upside.  It seems like a pretty solid trade at this point.  

Did anyone, even in here, ever actually use that label?

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 minutes ago, shrader said:

Did anyone, even in here, ever actually use that label?

No.  
 

McLeod’s play so far this season has been a huge bonus for the team.  The instant chemistry between Greenway Zucker and McLeod has been a huge help to the team so far and has bought time for the failing 2nd line to find their games.  

If McLeod plays like this all season, the trade will go down as KA’s best trade since the tear down.  Of course, McLeod is in a contract year.

 

[inkman]

35 minutes ago, shrader said:

Did anyone, even in here, ever actually use that label?

This place wasn’t the issue 

 

[LGR4GM]

Again, EP has this guy and y'all should follow him. Makes that Matt Larkin tweet look silly. 

 

[DarthEbriate]

From earlier in this thread...

On 7/5/2024 at 2:07 PM, DarthEbriate said:

Last year, Cozens had a slow start, then his concussion. It took him a long time to look himself, but HCDG always kept him in the top 6. McLeod will likely only ever be a 3C on this roster as well, but he has the 200' game to push on Cozens if injuries/slumps take place. Ruff will mix-match lines and ice time and this is a good piece for that.

Now, I didn't expect the slump/TOI items to come to fruition this early in the season, but such is life.

One thing to note, you can easily call the 3rd veteran line the 2nd line, and call the kid line the 3rd line, and then think back to Vanek-Roy-Pominville's 3rd line/Kid Line debut in 05-06. Their ages:

Vanek 22 - Roy 22 - Pominville 23  compared to Benson 19/Kulich 20 - Cozens 23 - Quinn 23.  Cozens turns 24 midseason, but it makes sense that they are still going through growing pains. Vanek was healthy scratched in those 05-06 playoffs.

[Pimlach]

Savoie may end up being a very good NHL player someday - and so might Cozens, Quinn, Kulich, Östlund, Benson, Rosen, Wahlberg, and Helenius. 

But we cannot play all of them on the same roster.  

The trade of Savoie for McLoed was to get better right now,  and pave the way for better development of these younger players in the future.  The Savoie trade is about the next 2 years for Buffalo.  For Edmonton they have a future piece that might be a good one.  

 

[shrader]

34 minutes ago, inkman said:

This place wasn’t the issue 

 

Well the middle guy is from here isn’t he? But anyway, as for that list, all I have to say is “who?”. I feel like I’m looking at the equivalent of the wider internet version of this place. 
 

But anyway, there’s a lot of time left for this story to be told. McLeod sure does fit right now though. 

[DarthEbriate]

31 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Savoie may end up being a very good NHL player someday - and so might Cozens, Quinn, Kulich, Östlund, Benson, Rosen, Wahlberg, and Helenius. 

But we cannot play all of them on the same roster.  

The trade of Savoie for McLoed was to get better right now,  and pave the way for better development of these younger players in the future.  The Savoie trade is about the next 2 years for Buffalo.  For Edmonton they have a future piece that might be a good one.  

Savoie could end up on McDavid’s wing and score more points in one season than McLeod scores in 3 years with the Sabres and it could still be an excellent trade from a Sabres perspective.

[EM88]

I think he is on a hot streak right now likely to cool off. But on occasion a player gets a new chance with a new team and just takes off. Zach Hyman had 86 goals in 6 years for Toronto. Then he moves to Edmonton and gets more chances and more minutes to score 117 goals in 3 seasons there.

[Pimlach]

3 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Savoie could end up on McDavid’s wing and score more points in one season than McLeod scores in 3 years with the Sabres and it could still be an excellent trade from a Sabres perspective.

If McLoed helps get us to a playoff berth after 13 years of pain then the trade accomplished something. 

If Savioe become a star and the prospects that we kept do not, then that will be debated for years to come, but you have to do something to help the team right now. 

There is no doubt today that Savoie is not NHL ready right now and that Kulich appears to be showing us that he is.  

[Crusader1969]

53 minutes ago, inkman said:

This place wasn’t the issue 

 

I think it's time we all circle back to @gregkash

[Pimlach]

7 minutes ago, EM88 said:

I think he is on a hot streak right now likely to cool off. But on occasion a player gets a new chance with a new team and just takes off. Zach Hyman had 86 goals in 6 years for Toronto. Then he moves to Edmonton and gets more chances and more minutes to score 117 goals in 3 seasons there.

This happens all the time over the decades of watching hockey.  I doubt that the old powder blue Pittsburgh Penguins knew that Rene Robert would score 40 goals and 100 points either.  

[shrader]

18 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

If McLoed helps get us to a playoff berth after 13 years of pain then the trade accomplished something. 

If Savioe become a star and the prospects that we kept do not, then that will be debated for years to come, but you have to do something to help the team right now. 

There is no doubt today that Savoie is not NHL ready right now and that Kulich appears to be showing us that he is.  

I don’t think the guys we kept matter at all in this case. There’s way too much conjecture there:

Would Buffalo have moved someone else instead? Would Edmonton have taken anyone else? I think this one makes a ton of sense with these exact pieces and it’s best left at that. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

I’m thrilled with what I’ve seen from McLeod so far.  However 7 games does not a season make nor is it adequate to evaluate a trade.  So far so good is all we can say and hope it continues all season.

I am glad that Lindy is increasing the PT for the “3rd” line as they have earned the PT with their play.  Hopefully, their fine play will take the pressure off the Cozens line and allow them to play more relaxed.  

[Crusader1969]

It still amazes me that people are amazed when you see significant progress from a player when they hit their 24/25 year old season 
 

Way too many people write of players / prospects before they actually mature 

you would think people would learn but knowing the flack Power and Cozens gets, I know they won't 

[mjd1001]

McLeod is fast.  He might be in the top 5 fastest guys in the NHL. Last year he was measured at skating 23.82mph during a game. For comparison, in all the games, ice time, and Minutes McDavid played, he topped out at 22.72mph. Last year Eichel's best was 23.51. So yeah, with the pads on skating in the game....McLeod is fast.

But, his hands I think are under-rated.  Now, he doesn't have a hard shot. I don't think he is going to be putting one-timers in the net from the faceoff circle on the PP, and he's not beating many goalies with a slap shot from 30 feet out.  But we have seen, he is very dangerous right in front of the net.  More than many players we think are 'better'.

So the question is, can he keep putting himself in positon to be coming in on the goalie at speed and get off shots there? If he can get 50+ shots off like that over the course of a season, he may very well end up being a 20-25 goal scorer.

[K-9]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I’m thrilled with what I’ve seen from McLeod so far.  However 7 games does not a season make nor is it adequate to evaluate a trade.  So far so good is all we can say and hope it continues all season.

I am glad that Lindy is increasing the PT for the “3rd” line as they have earned the PT with their play.  Hopefully, their fine play will take the pressure off the Cozens line and allow them to play more relaxed.  

I don’t think we can properly evaluate the trade until Savoie becomes a full time NHL player. He’s doing OK currently in the A, so I’m guessing next year is when he makes the jump.

[GASabresIUFAN]

9 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

It still amazes me that people are amazed when you see significant progress from a player when they hit their 24/25 year old season 
 

Way too many people write of players / prospects before they actually mature 

you would think people would learn but knowing the flack Power and Cozens gets, I know they won't 

While there is some truth in your comment, for many players you kind of know what they are by 22.  They may not be fully physically mature, but their games are pretty close to what we should expect.  Take Eichel for example.  He has yet to top his pt total from age 22 or his goal total from age 23. He is basically a pt a fame player who, if he plays a full season, will score 25-30 and add about 50-60 assists.  

The problem with Cozens is regression.   Injuries are a factor, but also I think his game has slipped. He broke out at 21, regressed last year at 22 from 68 pts to 47 and now at 23 he has 2 pts in 8 games (20 pts pace). This is terrible production from the 2nd line center.  

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

4 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I don’t think we can properly evaluate the trade until Savoie becomes a full time NHL player. He’s doing OK currently in the A, so I’m guessing next year is when he makes the jump.

It may be a decade before we can adequately evaluate this trade.  Does McLeod keep up the scoring this season and beyond?  Will he be re-signed this off-season and if so how long does he last with the Sabres?  When (if?) does Savoie make the NHL? What’s his production? How long does he last with the Oilers?  What impact does either guy have on their new teams?  

The trade perception will also be affected by how our other prospects do relative to Savoie.  It may not be fair since we don’t know who Edm asked for or whom Adams refused to part with, but the comparisons will be made; such as why did we keep Kulich and Östlund over Savoie.  

 

[Jorcus]

I have to wonder if the Oilers would not have made this move if they knew they were going to lose Holloway and Broberg. From the Oilers point of view it was a forward looking money issue I think. 

[bob_sauve28]

48 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

It still amazes me that people are amazed when you see significant progress from a player when they hit their 24/25 year old season 
 

Way too many people write of players / prospects before they actually mature 

you would think people would learn but knowing the flack Power and Cozens gets, I know they won't 

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