Suggested Trade Sees Oilers Reunite With Sabres’ Ryan McLeod

McLeod is coming off of back-to-back 50-point seasons, notching 53 in the 2024-25 season, and 54 in the 2025-26 season, so him being the odd forward out comes as a bit of a surprise. His speed and depth scoring provide would be valuable to a contending team, which is where the Oilers could come in.

This season, McLeod has played 15 games, scoring just one goal and adding two assists for three points.

In this article, we take a quick look at what a trade between the Sabres and Oilers involving McLeod could look like. Keep in mind, this is purely a hypothetical idea, and there is no indication that the Sabres want to trade McLeod, or that the Oilers would have interested.

Oilers Reunite With McLeod, Sabres Add Prospect & Pick

The Oilers could be looking for centre depth, considering Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been better when placed lower in the lineup, and having Owen Michaels go own to the American Hockey League (AHL) could be an ideal situation for both him and the team. Michaels started well, but has been getting caved in at even strength, so some development with the Bakersfield Condors would be ideal.

Either way, adding McLeod adds some speed to the Oilers’ middle-six forward group, and his offensive production is something that the Oilers could utilize.

The Sabres would likely want to recoup some assets for McLeod, so while it wouldn’t be a huge asking price, it also won’t be practically free to acquire him. For the Oilers, they would have to find a way to fit his $5 million cap hit into their roster, considering the Sabres likely won’t want to retain on his contract that is signed through the 2028-29 season.

One simple cap solution would be trading Jake Walman, who is struggling, to the Sabres, but Walman would have to be willing to accept a deal to the Sabres, and the Sabres would have to be interested in doing a swap that sees two players who need fresh starts, flipped for each other.

In the real world, that likely doesn’t happen, but a realistic trade could look like,

• Oilers Receive: F Ryan McLeod
• Sabres Receive: D Beau Akey, Blues’ 2028 third-round pick, Sabres’ own 2028 seventh-round pick

The Oilers would have to clear just under $5 million in cap space, which could be tough, but isn’t impossible. If they are able to stay healthy and start accruing cap space, it becomes a little easier closer to the 2027 Trade Deadline, but if they want to do it earlier, they would have to move someone else out.

The Sabres get their own seventh-round pick back, that they traded to the Oilers with goaltender Devon Levi, as well as a promising prospect in Beau Akey, as well as a third-round pick. That package shoulds be enticing enough for them to be willing to move on from someone who is no longer a regular in their everyday lineup.

We will see what happens, but the Sabres trading McLeod to give him a fresh start, eventually, seems inevitable, unless he turns things around quickly.

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