There’s the cap savings.
The Edmonton Oilers shed salary on Friday, swapping forwards with the Buffalo Sabres in sending Ryan McLeod and prospect Ty Tullio east for Matthew Savoie, a St. Albert native who was drafted by Buffalo ninth overall in 2022.
McLeod, 24, played 81 games for the Oilers last season, scoring 12 goals and 18 assists. He scored four playoff goals in the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final this spring and is set to collect $2.1-million in salary next season.
The trade leaves the Oilers $354,167 over the $88-million National Hockey League salary cap with Savoie’s entry-level contract in the minor leagues.
The Oilers had signed several free agents on July 1, putting them over the NHL salary cap.
Savoie, 20, spent last season mostly with the junior Moose Jaw Warriors. He also played one NHL game with the Sabres and six with their American Hockey League affiliate.
The 22-year-old Tullio, a fifth-round draft pick by Edmonton in 2020, has spent the last two seasons with the Oilers’ minor-league affiliate in AHL Bakersfield.