Why Matt Savoie’s effective Oilers debut matters with NHL trade deadline looming

The Edmonton Oilers played arguably their worst game of the season on Saturday afternoon, their first contest since the 4 Nations Face-Off. They didn’t get enough saves, at least over the opening 40 minutes when it really mattered. They carelessly turned over the puck and did so in terrible spots, leading to clear-cut scoring chances against. They had such a poor offensive push that they mustered just 18 shots on net, only three in the final period when they needed a couple of goals to draw even. There wasn’t much to like in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. There was one thing, though: the play of Matt Savoie, the 21-year-old rookie in his Oilers debut and second NHL game. “Matt was one of the bright spots of our team,” coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters in Philadelphia. “I was very happy with his game.” Savoie recorded his first big-league point, a primary assist on linemate Leon Draisaitl’s 41st goal of the season. The point was well-earned, too. Savoie got in on the forecheck, got excellent positioning on the much bigger Rasmus Ristolainen and then made a deft backhand pass to find Draisaitl in the slot. He was also in the mix on Mattias Ekholm’s goal, was one of the few Oilers to show any jump and finished the outing plus-1 in 13:02 of work, all at even strength. Oilers brass wanted to see Savoie in some NHL action in part because he’s earned the opportunity thanks to 25 points in his last 23 games with AHL Bakersfield. He passed his first test Saturday with flying colours. That’s a key first step for Savoie, and a potentially valuable one for the Oilers, considering the March 7 trade deadline is six games and less than two weeks away. It would be unfair and unwise to pencil in Savoie as a top-nine winger upgrade after just one game against a probable non-playoff team. Oilers management, led by Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman, should continue to explore options to improve the roster in the days to come. Scoring from the flanks has been one of the weaker areas on a Stanley Cup-calibre club, so augmenting that group should be a priority even if Savoie continues to play as he did against the Flyers. But Savoie has at least provided some proof of concept that he can be an option down the stretch and in the playoffs. That’s critical given all the uncertainty regarding Evander Kane’s status and the possible roster permutations. It might not be this cut and dried because of the potential for injuries in March and April, but there’s a simple way to break this down. The Oilers can add a little more than $5.1 million in cap hits to their books if Kane remains on LTIR until the start of the playoffs. They are essentially dollar-in, dollar-out — and with little in the way of obvious trade candidates on the roster — if Kane projects to make his 2024-25 debut before the regular season concludes. The former scenario provides greater ease and flexibility to improve multiple facets. That would be welcome because it isn’t just on the wings where the Oilers could use a boost. Bowman told The Athletic before the 4 Nations break that he wants to add depth up front, (possibly at centre) and on defence (notably on the left side). While Bowman downplayed the idea of upgrading in net, more outings for Stuart Skinner like his last two might get him to reconsider. That’s a potentially big list — and it’s a big list that’ll have to be prioritized with great care if Kane is slated to suit up before Game 1 of the postseason. Especially in that scenario but even sans Kane, the Oilers are in a position where they just need more offensive options on the wings. Knoblauch has tons of lineup combinations at his disposal, but let’s consider Connor McDavid, Draisaitl and Adam Henrique at centre Nos. 1, 2 and 3 for this exercise since that’s what he’s mostly gone with. That leaves Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown and then some mixture of Jeff Skinner, Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark or Kasperi Kapanen as their wingers before considering Savoie. There are a lot of useful players in that group, many of them with great offensive track records. Hyman might be the only front-line winger this season based on the combination of usage and stats — and his production has fallen off from his 54-goal campaign. That includes Nugent-Hopkins, who, at 1.16 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, has the worst scoring rate in that situation among forwards not named Noah Philp or Derek Ryan. In a perfect world, the Oilers add to that group and then have Savoie at the ready. If they can’t, they’ll have to hope Savoie, Kane, Jeff Skinner or anyone else can fill the void. That’s why Saturday mattered. The Oilers’ overall performance was dreadful, but Savoie’s effort was potentially impactful in the bigger and long-term picture. Savoie showed speed, tenaciousness, determination, offensive instincts and polish. Those are the types of qualities he’s had in his arsenal for years. It’s why he’s thought of, conservatively, as a surefire top-nine forward for the Oilers for years to come. If all goes according to plan, he’ll end up being the best forward prospect the Oilers have developed since McDavid. In case anyone needs a reminder, No. 97 was drafted in 2015. The future is undoubtedly bright for Savoie. The present just got a little brighter, too, as the Sherwood Park, Alta., native stood out in his debut with his hometown team. What that means for the weeks and months to come remains to be seen. But at least Savoie has taken another step toward playing himself into the mix when the Oilers might need him.