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Ryan McLeod might be better than you think



This isn't the overpay it might seem like

by Josefstalion

37 Comments

  1. BabyBottoms23

    He’s a solid 3C. He’s great defensively. He’s good on the PK. He’s good at faceoffs. Also extremely fast. Pretty much what everyone has been asking for.

  2. schwarma_mcpotato

    Not for what we gave up.

    Silver lining fans really chugging cope this off season holy fuck.

  3. Acceptable_Code_4462

    Im now wondering if maybe another trade is coming/lines up or close? I don’t know where krebs goes anymore because mcleod wins face-offs.
    Maybe we move krebs and something else and get a top 6?

  4. Simple_Jak

    People are overreacting. This will end up looking like a good trade. Our prospect system is jammed up and McLeod is a great 3C for Lindy’s system. Also still relatively young so he likely hasn’t peaked yet.

    Will be RFA when his contract is up so still under team control. These are the kind of assets you give up prospects for. Savoie is far from a sure fire nhler. I cant see him contributing much on the bottom 6 so it’s either top 6 or bust.

  5. Straight_Landscape37

    I like the player but that overpay really hurts ngl

  6. ReasonableGuarantee4

    Oilers fan here. You will like him and the plan was always to keep him I believe, until Henrique decided to sign for cheap. He can moonlight as a second line winger as well.

    I think Savoie is more than anyone thought the return would be. But if you ignore that you just got a solid player who is amazing in the community and fun to watch.

  7. I’m a fan of Buffalo and Edmonton, and I can’t count how many times I’ve mistaken McLeod for McDavid with how fast he can go from one end of the ice to the other. If he can get his brain and hands to move as fast as his feet, he’ll be one of the league’s best two way players. If not, he’s still a fantastic defensive forward with amazing speed. He was one of my favorite players in Edmonton, and I’m glad to see him go to another team I root for.

  8. JoeSchmohawk93

    Time will tell on this one. I think McLeod will be good under Lindy but I just can’t overlook that Savoie was 9OA just two years ago with elite RW upside… I think/hope Kevyn wasn’t as high on him as most of us are.

  9. BurgerFeazt

    People here are obsessed with analytics

    People here are obsessed with Adams making a trade to improve the current roster

    Adams makes a trade for a guy with a great analytics card who improves the roster and everyone melts down

    Never change Reddit

  10. zaxtonous99

    This trade could very well end up being a great trade for the sabres. The whole league could be down on savoies value, and that could end up being true. It still feels rough as a knee jerk. Time will tell, obviously, still just as excited for next season as always.

  11. absoluteunits17

    Oilers fan

    Love Clouder, but he became redundant with Henrique back. He’s a good 3C, but don’t expect him to go to the dirty areas or the middle of the ice. He’s allergic to contact. He is extremely fast and an unreal PKer though. Hope he does great in Buffalo

  12. edit-the-sad-parts

    the discrepancy in offensive impact between the models is super curious – McLeod has great on ice xGF rates while producing very little individual xG

    will be interesting to see the microstats, maybe there’s a play driver in there considering transition and passing that could pair well with a Benson or Zucker and produce a little more offense

    EDIT: creating chances in the o-zone through passing off the forecheck is his strength, along with zone exits. This targets some pretty major weaknesses for this team while making speed even more of a strength, and bolstering the pk

    https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1809323877778223597/photo/1

  13. Consider_Kind_2967

    OP, strange question. Can you share where you found the first image? I know it’s from the Athletic’s model. I subscribe to The Athletic but can never find the location where these infographics exist!

  14. PhilTheBin

    But OH MY GOD think of the impact Savoie could’ve made when he’s NHL ready in 3 years… 😂/s.

    This fan base is insane with the value they place on prospects.

  15. YordleTop

    Oilers fan here: McLeod is solid, we just need the cap room and Henrique took his job. We thought we would get a second and are quite happy we recieved a legit prospect. He is speedy, and solid defensively. Doesn’t use the body alot unfortunately. Treat him well, I hope it works out for both teams.

  16. Reasonable_Emu

    Plus let’s remember that when we got Tuchy he was coming off consecutive seasons with Vegas with similar or worse points scored. He’s 24 and saw a SCF. Let’s let this play out.

  17. TroubleCrazy6190

    I really hope so. All the other hockey team threads are like “WTF are you doing, Buffalo?” And Edmonton fans can’t believe it

  18. reddishgrape

    It will be nice to have someone who can win a faceoff

  19. 👍 now get a top 6 scorer and let’s drop the puck and see what Lindy can do!

  20. Novanator33

    We traded a potential higher ceiling for a better floor rn, this is the exact type of move that helps makes the playoffs rn but when were struggling to get over a gritty defensive team like Florida savoie is going to be the exact type of player we’ll be clamoring about as a fanbase…

    “We just need a guy that can expose florida’s gaps in the neutral zone” “we need someone to move the puck up quickly into their zone with the ability to shoot or create off the rush” “we need that gamebreaker that can expose the D and put them in a bind”

    This will be exactly what we will say when we struggle against Florida, that we need a guy who can outperform the muck florida tries to fling… you dont need a whole roster, you just need 1 guy, and now he plays for Edmonton.

  21. Sabrescuprun

    Silver lining I feel a lot better having kulich, rosen, or ostlund moving up and playing on a 3rd line with mcleod vs krebs. Hopeful at least one of them has a good camp/strong start

  22. Sl0wChemical

    Oilers fan here. His biggest weakness as a player is he doesn’t play in the hard areas like he should. Don’t expect him to scuff it up along the boards and be successful. He’s fast and skilled. But he just couldn’t put it all together here

  23. Matthockey9

    He’s always could have provided more in 2-3 year this trade will look a lot better there’s a lot of hype around savoie. This has more potential in being similar to the Nylander-jokiharju trade

  24. serious_man_13

    The people complaining need to chill. We gave up our 5th best prospect who might be good for a guy who is a good bottom 6 guy.

    Edit: And the guy is only 24

  25. SupernovaPlus5

    Oilers fan, you guys got a low key underrated player. If Lindy can convince him to play in the hard areas and use his speed to drive the net then he’ll be excellent. Some nights he’s our second fastest skater behind McDavid

  26. He’s quite nifty and has a very nice skillset but it doesn’t justify the deal, if the sabres were a true talent 50 W team with a core at their absolute peak then sure ok, but this is still the high upside asset accumulation phase

  27. boomshocks

    Another Edmonton fan invading…

    McLeod is a great PKer, incredibly fast, has an active stick, but just lacks high end skill. He’s a good defensively responsible 3C who can also play wing. He doesn’t have the upside that Savoie has but you are getting a guaranteed NHL player who has always seemed very loyal.

    It may seem like an overpay, but just know Edmonton didn’t trade him because he doesn’t fit or that he isn’t a good player. It was entirely financial and the fact that Henrique chose to resign which was unexpected.

  28. BingBongthe2nd

    Oilers fan, here.

    You got a very fast, good 2-way forward. He’s a fine 3C and could get a look as a top 6 winger as he had some success with Draisaitl for a time. He’s an NHL starting roster player for sure.

    He fell off in the playoffs seemingly being allergic in going to the tough areas and looked incapable of being physical also but showed some flashes after he was scratched. He was put on the wing and did pretty well after being scratched.

  29. Yosomoswag

    He’s a proven NHL roster player. Savoie had never played in the NHL. seems like a good trade for both sides.

  30. Crucially though they don’t really recognize this stuff which really underscores how they sold low on Savoie

    Matthew Savoie is the centerpiece for an Ehlers deal type asset

    Not for a player you can replace in fa easily

  31. OdoriferousGasBag

    Of course he’s better than most of the casuals think. That’s what makes them casuals. They don’t get that winning the Stanley Cup in franchise mode doesn’t make them an NHL GM or an NHL head coach.

  32. RepresentativeOwn307

    He’s taller than 5ft9 so this is a huge win

  33. Substantial_Mud4694

    I live in Calgary so the oilers play lots. Trust me we got fleeced on this trade , McLeod is not that great, Savoie had a much higher ceiling. McLeod will always be a bottom 6 forward.

  34. Is it just me or does McLeod look like a slightly faster, slightly better at scoring (young) Girgensons? High defensive upside, has wheels, will forecheck but avoid physicality, has stones for hands. Mitts is a really bad comparison.

  35. AcousticOcean26

    I love this trade, enough with the prospects. Big body, still young, perfect fit for this team.

  36. Better trade away our best prospect for a 3C lmao wtf are we doing

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