Growing up as a fan of the Edmonton Oilers has got to be a full-circle moment for Matthew Savoie as he now joins the Canadian team for the 2024-25 season after the Buffalo Sabres traded him in exchange for both Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. Savoie now gets a chance to play for his favorite team in the next campaign – and possibly a chance at a Stanley Cup final appearance should the Oilers manage to return to the top of the game.

Edmonton seeks to bring in a promising center into the squad with the hopes of enriching their young roster, and Savoie definitely fits the bill as a promising player who has the potential to become an elite scorer if given the chance. At this point, a developing player may not be what they need given the fact that they are already contending for the Stanley Cup, but Edmonton took a gamble on this trade after sending two of their best forwards.

Teams don’t just trade without thinking about it in a day. This just means that Savoie may have a promising potential that fits well with the Oilers in the long run if they are willing to trade some of their best players just to acquire him for the next season.

Savoie’s Promising Development

The Sabres selected Savoie with the 9th pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, but a shoulder injury during the team’s rookie camp led him to make a late debut with the squad, which was back in November 2023. That scoreless debut saw the need for him to be sent to Rochester of the American Hockey League, where he finished with five points (two goals, three assists) in six games before the center was sent to the Western Hockey League to play with Wenatchee, which relocated from Winnipeg for the 2023-24 season.

There he had his chances. Savoie finished with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) before being traded to Moose Jaw, where he came up with impressive performances and finishing with 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 23 regular-season games and 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 playoff games, helping Moose Jaw win its first WHL championship and qualify for the 2024 Memorial Cup.

Looking Forward to the Next Stage

Those massive performances in the WHL allowed Savoie to regain some of his lost groove due to injury, and the Oilers kept a close eye on the center before finally making their move during the free agency phase of the league. Edmonton went on to make some interesting moves in the offseason as well, re-signing forwards Connor Brown, Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique and added free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to the group.

“It’s exciting,” Savoie said. “Watching the playoff run they went on and being around the city and the buzz, it’s exciting to come to this team right now. You look at the roster and the additions they made in the summer and they’re going for it at every point this year, so it’s exciting to come to this kind of group and hopefully I’ll get a good opportunity.”

Savoie was slated to be a massive part of Buffalo’s rebuild, but now he gets a bigger chance with the Oilers in the next season. Being a prolific scorer as he is, it does seem that he is in the right place, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to bank in a promising role – with a championship team that also happens to be his favorite one.