The Edmonton Oilers have traded centre Ryan McLeod of Mississauga, Ontario and right winger Tyler Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres for centre Matthew Savoie of St. Albert, Alberta on Friday according to Rogers Sportsnet. The major reason for this transaction from an Oilers perspective was because the team was over the salary cap with the recent free agent acquisitions of left winger Jeff Skinner of Toronto, Ontario from the Buffalo Sabres, and right winger Viktor Arvidsson from the Los Angeles Kings.
McLeod has spent the last four seasons in Edmonton. During the 2023-24 season, he had 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 81 games. McLeod was a +10 with one power-play point, two shorthanded points, three game-winning goals, 106 shots on goal, 365 faceoff wins, 34 blocked shots, 65 hits, 66 takeaways, and 48 giveaways.
Savoie was a first round pick, ninth overall, by the Sabres in the 2022 National Hockey League Entry Draft. However, he only played one game for the Sabres. In a 3-2 Sabres win over the Minnesota Wild on November 10, 2023, Savoie played five shifts and had three minutes and 55 seconds of ice time.
Even though he is American, Tullio played his junior hockey with the Mississauga Chargers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League. Last season, Tullio was with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.
