Back at the end of December, we wrote about how the Edmonton Oilers' top rated prospect was taking aim at making his NHL debut with them at some point during the 2024-25 season. Well, it's now set to finally happen.
As per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, Matthew Savoie was a part of practice earlier this week (along with Derek Ryan). Nugent-Bowman would later add that the forward would accompany the Oilers on their five-game road trip right out of the gate, following the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
There is little doubt that Savoie has earned this opportunity, with him doing extremely well in his first season with the Bakersfield Condors. Among other things, he is second on the team with 24 assists and 37 overall points, while also leading the way with a +16 rating.
A deserving opportunity for Matthew Savoie with the Oilers
Aside from this, the 21-year-old has just been tremendous in general for the Condors, with him showing why he was selected ninth overall in the 2022 draft. As per Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said:
"As the season’s gone on he’s progressing and playing really well and we wanted to look and see how he fits into our lineup. Whether there’s a fit with somebody or maybe he’s just not quite ready, whatever it is."
Knoblauch admits it is unclear at this stage how much Savoie will play during the aforementioned road trip, but keep in mind that aside from him deserving the opportunity, there is another factor in play. More specifically, the pending Mar. 7 NHL trade deadline.
The Oilers have seven games remaining before the deadline, with plenty to consider in how to upgrade their team, including whether to bring in some goalie help. However, if Savoie can show something (enough) between now and Mar. 7, the organisation might feel less inclined to look for someone to strengthen the middle six.
Money factors in Edmonton
Of course things will become better still, if it is confirmed that Evander Kane will not be coming off Long-Term Injured Reserve until the playoffs. If this becomes the case -- with it ideally needing to be confirmed prior to Mar. 7 -- then automatically the Oilers will have an extra $5.125 million of 'bonus' cap space to play around with.
In any event, it's up to Savoie to take advantage of this golden opportunity, to both prove himself and help the Oilers. He has just one NHL appearance to date in his career, with him seeing 3:55 of ice time last season, while still with the Buffalo Sabres.
As you can imagine, the St. Albert, Alberta native is happy to finally get his chance in Edmonton. As per Tychkowski, he said:
"You always have to make sure you have a bag packed at home. That’s what keeps it exciting. Every player wants to play here so that’s the call you’re waiting to get and hoping you get. ... So pure joy for me and pure excitement."
The Oilers' first game of their road trip will take place on Saturday in Philadelphia, against the Flyers. Coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break they are first in the Pacific Division and tied second-overall in the Western Conference in points (although technically third on the head-to-head tie-breakers).
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