In this edition of the Buffalo Sabres News & Rumors, we look at the eventful day that was July 5. The Sabres traded star prospect Matthew Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers, brought in Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio, re-signed Henri Jokiharju, and a pair of restricted free agents filed for arbitration.
Sabres Trade Top Prospect to Oilers
It isn’t often that a team that has been out of the playoff picture for many years trades one of their best prospects. Some believe Savoie was the best; others believe he was in the top three; regardless, a prospect of his stature doesn’t get traded very often.
Savoie was drafted ninth overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has since arguably shot his name up the list as one of the top five prospects in that class.
Savoie played most of his season in the Western Hockey League (WHL), his fourth season. Across those three years, Savoie has 161 games and an outstanding 256 points. Savoie was among the best in the WHL regarding points per game, including leading the league in 2023-24. After dominating the WHL, Savoie signed with the Sabres to join the organization and got the chance to lace up in one NHL game and six American Hockey League (AHL) games.
Related: Oilers Trading Ryan McLeod to Sabres For Prospect Matt Savoie
His five points in six AHL games were impressive, and this player has a lot of talent. He will likely transition to the wing in the NHL, or that seemed to be the plan with the Sabres. On the Oilers, they could have a different development path in mind.
Bringing in McLeod and Tullio
The Sabres’ goal here was clearly to help the team now. Savoie was one of their top prospects, but with one of the league’s best and deepest prospect pools, they can afford to take risks. Throwing away star prospects isn’t ideal, but that isn’t what happened with this trade.
McLeod is coming off a great season with the Oilers, where he posted 30 points in 81 games. At only 24 years old, McLeod still has some potential to grow into a more complete player. The Oilers’ forward depth left McLeod expendable come playoff time, and after signing Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique, and the uncertainty of Evander Kane, they were willing to move on. At the very least, McLeod will be a solid bottom-six center who kills penalties.
A bottom-six center is just the floor for McLeod, though. With more room to climb the roster, McLeod could take advantage of the opportunity and shine with the Sabres. He isn’t going to turn into a point-per-game top-line center, but if he can jump up his production with more ice time, there is a legitimate chance he could become a 45+-point two-way center the club really values.
As for Tullio, he is a former fifth-round pick by the Oilers, and after dominating the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in his third season, he transitioned to the AHL. His production didn’t translate as well as some may have hoped, but Tullio scored at just under a half of a point per game pace as a middle-six winger on the Bakersfield Condors.
The value may not look like it is at all, even on the surface, and this trade certainly has the potential to be a tough one to look back on, but a prospect is never a sure thing. Savoie was pretty close to one, but he hasn’t proven anything at the NHL level, and the Sabres were willing to take a chance on this deal.
Sabres Bring Back Jokiharju
The Sabres have re-signed Jokiharju to a one-year deal worth $3.1 million. While many are pointing to that and saying it is too much money, the Sabres have a lot of cap space remaining. With little to no high-end free agents left, they have the room to make this signing to avoid arbitration.
Jokiharju is a fine depth defenseman who is versatile enough to play higher in the lineup and can keep up with better defensemen. Still, he isn’t strong enough defensively to be a true shut-down defenseman, nor can he produce enough offense to be a go-to option in the top four. He isn’t very physical either, but he can move the puck fairly well and helps in transition. His puck-moving doesn’t often translate to the scoresheet, but he does add value to the lineup.
Having a defenseman like Jokiharju helps because you can slot him anywhere, and he will play the same game. Ideally, you would like a more reliable defenseman, but as a potential number six or seven defenseman, he is perfectly fine in that role.
Luukkonen and Malenstyn File for Arbitration
The 5 p.m. deadline on July 5 for player-elected arbitration has passed, and two Sabres players have filed to meet with an impartial arbitrator to finalize a deal. This means that neither player is eligible for an offer sheet now.
A deal can still be agreed upon until the player and team enter arbitration, which is often the case. Arbitration is hard on players, as the team will come up with as many reasons as possible to express a lower value for a player and shy away from the positives.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is one of the players, or in this case, goaltender, who filed. After a breakout year with the Sabres, he deserves a significant raise from his $837,500 salary in 2023-24. His 27-22-4 record and a .910 save percentage showed that he can be a starting goaltender. The Sabres signed James Reimer and Felix Sandstrom to add to their goaltending depth and have a star prospect, Devon Levi, looking to break into the NHL full-time, so the Sabres are likely avoiding a lengthy deal unless they can keep the cap hit low.
Beck Malenstyn, who was just acquired at the draft, finished his first full season in the NHL with 25 points in 81 games. He was acquired to bolster the forward depth, and his good skating, physicality, and ability to draw penalties are assets the Sabres had drawn interest in. He also filed for arbitration, but with an incoming contract with a relatively low cap hit, this one is more likely to get done before meeting with the arbitrator.
Again, it was a busy day in Buffalo, but these moves add depth and create competition within the lineup. Having enough depth to have a mix of proven NHLers and prospects on the cusp of making the big league challenging each other for a roster spot creates more drive for the players, and the Sabres are doing a great job of ensuring their bottom-six and bottom-four are competitive, and they have lots of options.
