Matthew Savoie's injury woes influence Sabres' trade decision to Oilers: Report 

By Anjum Rajonno

Modified Jul 06, 2024 03:57 GMT

The Edmonton Oilers have acquired WHL forward Matthew Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres. While it originally seemed to be a steal for Edmonton, Buffalo insider Lance Lysowski feels there’s more to the trade than meets the eye.

Daily Faceoff’s Jason Granger reported Lance Lysowski’s take on the Matthew Savoie trade. The trade saw the Buffalo Sabres send Savoie to Edmonton in exchange for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio.

According to Lysowski, the Sabres decided to trade Matthew Savoie because of his history of injuries, particularly shoulder injuries.

“He has been injured a lot. He's had shoulder injuries, and I wonder if he didn't get hurt last year after his one NHL game; if he, maybe they don't trade him,” Lance Lysowski said.

The WHL forward made his NHL debut in November 2023 for the Sabres but recorded just over three minutes of ice time. Lysowski speculated that if Savoie hadn't gotten hurt after playing his single NHL game last year, the team might have kept him instead of trading him.

During his time in the WHL, the forward played 283 games with the Winnipeg Ice, Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors, scoring 263 points with 103 goals and 160 assists.

The player’s skating abilities have been largely lauded by scouts, and he's expected to bring his A-game to Edmonton.

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Sabres traded Matthew Savoie for Ryan McLeod to ‘revamp’ their bottom six

While injury concerns may have had some part to play in the Matthew Savoie trade, the Sabres reportedly chose to go for the Oilers' Ryan McLeod in the package to add depth to their lines. Lysowski thinks that the Sabres originally wanted to revamp their bottom six forwards.

As the team had already signed Jason Zucker, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and traded for Beck Malenstyn, they needed a center to complete their lineup transformation.

“They wanted to revamp their entire bottom six. They signed Jason Zucker and Sam Lafferty and Aube-Kubel, traded for Beck Malenstyn and they wanted a center," Lance Lysoswksi said.

Ryan McLeod is on a two year, $4.2 million contract, which lasts until the end of the 2024-25 season. The 24-year-old could be a valueble asset for the Sabres if they can fit him in one of their lines along with their other new acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Savoie’s trade to Edmonton has been lauded from the Oilers sporting perspective by TSN's Craig Button. He called it a "four quarter win" for Edmonton, as they secured a highly ‘skilled’ player on a three-year entry-level contract.

He mentioned that the move will offer salary cap relief to the Oilers while also capitalizing on Buffalo's surplus of smaller, talented players.