In October, I compared Edmonton Oilers rookie Matt Savoie’s early NHL time to former Oilers forwards Jordan Eberle and Kailer Yamamoto. All three were undersized skill right wingers on the day of their arrival, and all three had first-round draft pedigree. The big difference seemed to be opportunity. Eberle (in 2010) and Yamamoto (in 2020) stepped right in to feature roles. Savoie has had to earn his ascension up the depth chart. On the positive side, he plays for a much better team than either of his predecessors and that has benefits. The conclusion of the October article suggested Savoie had enough utility (PK, strong side faceoffs) to stay in the NHL and eventually thrive.

Penalty kill prowess

In the early days of the season, Savoie spent his five-on-five minutes on the fourth line, so he was most noticeable due to some impressive penalty-killing work. Edmonton has struggled at times on the penalty kill, but Savoie’s work ranks among the best on the Oilers as the team reaches the final stretch of 2025-26.

All numbers PK, via Natural Stat Trick

These are the Edmonton forwards who have played 50-plus minutes short-handed for the team this season. The eye-popping Connor McDavid numbers aside, Savoie shows well among a group of veteran PK men. He leads the forwards in total ice time, and his GA-60 is competitive.

For the coaching staff, Savoie is a positive in short-handed situations. That bodes well for his immediate and long-term future. His skill set suggests he would be more effective on the power play, but the Oilers are covered there. The short-handed minutes Savoie is playing this season gave him a chance to hang around, get experience, and finally start to deliver in the offensive zone at five-on-five.

Growth at even strength

A month-by-month glance at Savoie’s five-on-five work suggests coach Kris Knoblauch was risk-averse until the new year. The young winger has won the coach over with scoring and outscoring ability.

MonthMinutesPts-60Goal Pct

October

133

0

27

November

169

1.07

47

December

178

1.01

67

January

168

1.78

40

February

47

5.11

60

All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick

This is a strong build over the first 60 games of the season. The Oilers are known to slow-play youth (Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway), but Savoie is building rapport with the coaching staff and showing positive results. He spent the first game out of the Olympic break on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Jack Roslovic, and scored a goal while adding two assists. It was the most productive game of his career, and should serve as an impetus for more feature minutes. He would follow it up with another multi-point night in the route over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

The final hurdle

Edmonton’s path to a third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final may depend on finding some rugged forwards who can punish opposition defencemen. The NHL playoffs are a war of attrition, and Savoie is not well-suited to that physical style. Management finds itself with several skill forwards who are more finesse than fury, Savoie being one of them.

NHL teams often audition several players over a period of months, then send away the excess in trade. An easy example for fans of a certain age is the rookie crop of forwards who played significant NHL games during the 1995-96 season in Edmonton. Glen Sather, Oilers general manager at the time, kept winger Ryan Smyth and sent away a more talented scorer in Miro Satan.

Now the Oilers have Savoie, who is a talented offensive winger with an impressive two-way resume; Ike Howard, a pure goal scorer who has shown impressive (if less heralded) playmaking ability; and Quinn Hutson, who lacks the draft pedigree of Savoie and Howard but does a fine job of playing without the puck.

The Oilers won’t employ all three over the next several seasons, partly because they’re all smaller right wingers and partly because Zach Hyman is enjoying one of the best Oilers careers ever posted by an Edmonton right winger. There isn’t enough room for three skill wingers behind him on the depth chart. As well, Kasperi Kapanen is a bigger winger and appears to be headed to a longer-term extension, although injury issues may derail that idea if management believes he’s injury-prone.

Savoie has answered a lot of questions this season and is in a good spot compared to Howard and Hutson.

Trade deadline

Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is heading toward an important trade deadline in March. The team had a poor eight-game home stand before the Olympic break and was pure chaos against the Ducks on Wednesday night. The Thursday win over the Kings eases the pain, but only temporarily.

Bowman will have to make a trade to shore up at least one area of the roster, and the team doesn’t have a large number of attractive assets.

Savoie is one of them. He was acquired before Bowman came on as GM. Both Howard and Hutson were procured by Bowman, and NHL history suggests that the difference can mean a lot when it comes to making a decision on who goes and who stays.

In Savoie’s favour is the fact that he has established himself as an NHL player this season. His box car numbers (10-13-23 in 60 games) are the best by an Oilers rookie since Nail Yakupov (17-14-31 in 48 games) during the 2012-13 season. Savoie passed Ryan McLeod (9-12-21 in 2021-22), the man he was traded for, in the Los Angeles game.

Bottom line

The Oilers made some enormous mistakes in trading youth and draft picks since McDavid arrived in 2015. The draft picks traded for Griffin Reinhart, sending away a still-young Eberle and Taylor Hall, and dozens of picks wasted on the way.

The Savoie trade cost McLeod, who is a solid third-line centre with the Buffalo Sabres. Edmonton could use that player right now. Savoie’s development as a bona fide contributor to a successful contender represents a major accomplishment, though. On a team whose management fades youth over experience and where the coach rations rookie minutes, Savoie has arrived as a trusted player for the coaching staff.

The only question left is, does he stay in Edmonton for the heart of his career (Smyth), or does he find an NHL home elsewhere (Satan)? Fans will get that answer, possibly at this year’s deadline.