The just-concluded 4 Nations Face-Off tournament was by all means an enormous success and left hockey fans with the sights and sounds of multiple great games that will go down in the hockey history books. While Connor McDavid was leading Team Canada to an overtime victory over the United States in the tournament finals, a young rookie by the name of Matt Savoie attempted to write his own career story while practicing with the Oilers.
Per tournament rules, while NHL stars were playing for their respective nations, NHL teams were allowed to call up players from the minors (especially the AHL) and join their respective "big clubs" for team practices. According to Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblach, Savoie has earned a spot, albeit temporarily, to travel with Edmonton on their upcoming road trip as the regular season resumes this weekend.
Matt Savoie has used this tournament hiatus to full advantage and the Oilers used on a line alongside Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin. The 5'9", 179 pound Alberta native showed great defensive instincts during practice sessions and may be a new weapon in the Edmonton arsenal as #97 returns home alongside Viktor Arvidsson to resume regular season play.
In 45 games played for AHL Bakersfield Condors this season so far, Savoie has 13 goals and 24 assists including three goals and seven assists in the last ten games before his tournament call-up. With Edmonton looking at another deep Stanley Cup playoff run this spring, loading up with more firepower like Matt Savoie makes perfect sense in a perfect hockey world.
Any playing time during this upcoming road trip won't represent Savoie's rookie entrance into the NHL as he played in November, 2023 for the Buffalo Sabres for a grand total of 3:55 of time on the ice.
Matt Savoie represents a bargain as the Oilers' top prospect
In a normal professional sports world, top prospects usually cost lots of money to each franchise. However, Matt Savoie is both a relative bargain and the top blue-chip prospect for the Edmonton Oilers at this point.
Savoie was initially drafted in the 2022 NHL entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres as the ninth overall selection and traded this past year to Edmonton. The real bargain for Edmonton is the fact that Savoie's entry level contract (ELC) only leaves a salary cap of $886,666 this season and his ELC still has another two seasons left.
While Matt Savoie may only see limited playing time and find himself back down with Bakersfield by the end of February, it's reasonable to ascertain that a roster spot with the Oilers is only a matter of time-whether for the remainder of this season on next year in training camp is now the remaining question.