March 19, 2026 by Ryan Lotsberg

It has always taken Edmonton Oilers forward Matt Savoie a little bit of time to adjust to playing at a new level.

It goes back to his U-15 days. Savoie got 61 points in 35 games for the St. Albert U-15 AAA Sabres in 2016-17, but then got 97 points in 30 games for the Northern Alberta U-15 Prep team in 2017-18.

In 2019-20, Savoie got a chance to play in the WHL, where he got seven assists in 22 games for the Winnipeg Ice. He went to the USHL in 2020-21 and got 38 points in 34 games; but then he went back to the Ice in 2021-22 and put up 90 points in 65 games. That season vaulted Savoie up to the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

Savoie went back to the WHL the season after he got drafted. He got his first taste of professional hockey in 2023-24. He played on five different teams that season, including the WHL’s Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors, Canada’s World Junior team, six games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, and one game with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

He was traded to the Oilers for Ryan McLeod in the summer of 2024. Savoie was a sponge with the Bakersfield Condors, and he got 54 points in 66 games for them last season along with a four-game cup of coffee with the Oilers.

Related: Oilers trade McLeod to Sabres for Savoie

The Oilers made a concerted effort to get younger and faster this season, and making room for Savoie on the Oilers roster was a part of that. He’s played every game for the Oilers this season. Savoie earned head coach Kris Knoblauch’s trust with his defensive details. He spent most of the early part of the season on the third line, but he made a significant impact on penalty kill alongside Adam Henrique.

It took Savoie until October 30, 2025 to score his first NHL goal, and that went in off his skate. His next was a tip-in against the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 13, 2025. His third goal was an empty netter against the Florida Panthers on November 22, 2025. Savoie didn’t actually shoot a puck past a goalie until December 4, 2025, a night on which he scored two goals in a 9-4 drubbing of the Seattle Kraken.

The offence was slow coming for Savoie. He had a lot of chances earlier in the season, but he was snake bitten. Before the Olympic break, Savoie was producing 0.99 five-on-five points per game, which was only ahead of David Tomasek, Mattias Janmark, Henrique, and Trent Frederic among all Oilers forwards.

However, Savoie has reached another level since coming back from the Olympic break. He was sent to the Condors for cap reasons during the break, so he was forced to play one AHL game. 

Since then, he has ten points in eleven games.

Some of that has been the result of more time with Leon Draisaitl and more recently Connor McDavid; but Savoie earned his opportunity to skate on the top line with McDavid, and he’s made the most of it with a goal and two assists in the three games he has flanked McDavid. The two have shown impressive chemistry in a small sample size.

Savoie leads Oilers forwards with 3.89 five-on-five points/60 since the Olympic break according to Natural Stat Trick. This surge has raised his five-on-five points/60 to 1.48 for the entire season, which represents a 49% increase based on three and a half weeks worth of action. He’s also doing this on his off wing!

It appears that Savoie is starting to find his way at the NHL level rather than just fitting in.

Savoie’s season reminds me a lot of Vasily Podkolzin’s first season with the Oilers last year. Podkolzin started lower in the lineup and made a name for himself by being reliable defensively and leading the team in hits. He didn’t score a goal until November 23, 2024, a goal which started a streak of three straight games with a goal for Podkolzin. He later found a comfortable spot on Draisaitl’s wing, although he didn’t stay there throughout the playoffs.

Podkolzin’s five-on-five points/60 finished at 1.43 last season, which is just below where Savoie’s is right now. Podkolzin didn’t have a streak like Savoie is having right now, but he produced a bit more consistently throughout the season.

Podkolzin ended up with 24 points in 82 games last season, and he has set new career-highs with sixteen goals and 31 points through 69 games this season. He has become a legitimate top-six winger on a value contract for multiple years to come that still has some room to grow and improve.

I’m looking at that and salivating over what Savoie could do next season. Savoie already has 28 points in 69 games this season, and he’s just starting to find his game at the NHL level. It always takes Savoie a little bit of time to figure things out when he jumps up a level, but he’s dynamic once he gets comfortable. We’re just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Savoie and his potential.

I’m not expecting Savoie to be a point per game player for the rest of the season or through next year, but I have every reason to believe that Savoie will be a fixture in the Oilers’ top six next season.

Podkolzin’s five-on-five points/60 this season is at 1.89. Out of all regular Oilers forwards, only McDavid, Draisaitl, and Kasperi Kapanen are higher. Savoie is capable of that and more next season.

There’s something to be said for developing young talent at the NHL level, even in win now mode. It’s impossible to stay competitive as an annual elite Stanley Cup contender for any length of time without it. You can only throw draft picks and free agency dollars at the problem for so long. 

Savoie and Podkolzin will be part of the solution in Edmonton for a long time to come. Seeing them both on McDavid’s wing as they take on the Florida Panthers on Thursday night is symbolic of that. It’s also a symbol of the realization that the Oilers needed to get younger and faster last summer, which came after the team’s second consecutive Stanley Cup Final loss to the Panthers. There are some mitigating circumstances factoring into Thursday’s lineup, but Savoie and Podkolzin are both deserving of their chance to flank McDavid on the top line, even if it’s only for a little while.