The Edmonton Oilers have been very active so far this offseason, with interim general manager Jeff Jackson drawing rave reviews for his work in free agency. After coming within one win of the Stanley Cup, the Oilers made several additions that have fans excited, including forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.
Related: Oilers Signings In Free Agency Means Roster Move Is Coming
But with summer arrivals so come departures, and the Oilers are saying goodbye to a pair of forwards that were a substantial part of their success these last few years. On Canada Day, Warren Foegele signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. Then on Friday (July 6), Ryan McLeod was dealt along with Tyler Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Matthew Savoie.
Foegele, who the Oilers acquired via trade during the 2021 offseason, spent three years in Edmonton. As an Oiler, he totalled 45 goals and 50 assists in 231 regular-season games and contributed five goals and seven assists in 47 postseason contests.
McLeod, selected 40th overall by Edmonton at the 2018 NHL Draft, made his Oilers debut late in the 2020-21 season and has been a fixture in the team’s lineup since. He recorded 32 goals and 43 assists in 219 regular-season appearances, and added seven goals and six assists in 56 playoff games.
While Foegele and McLeod had their critics, and rightly so, each brought elements to the Oilers that may not necessarily be provided by their replacements. Here’s why they’ll be missed:
Foegele Impacted the Game in Many Ways
Foegele provided depth scoring for the Oilers, potting a career-high 20 goals in 2023-24, while also dishing out 21 assists, also a personal best. The winger found chemistry at times playing alongside Leon Draisaitl, as well as Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
But on an Edmonton team with a host of players who can fill the net, it was the physical and defensive aspects of Foegele that were most valuable to the Oilers. The 6-foot-2, 200-plus pounder often sparked his team, whether throwing the body, getting to loose pucks, or using his speed in open ice to create offence.
Foegele affects the play at both ends of the ice, and possesses the kind of multi-dimensional game that belongs to a prototypical third-liner.
McLeod Was Key on Oilers’ Penalty Kill
McLeod was a key piece of Edmonton’s outstanding penalty kill, which was 66 for 70 (94.3%) over the course of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He played the third most short-handed minutes of any Oilers forward in the postseason, behind only Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Janmark.
In Arvidsson, Savoie, and Skinner, the Oilers added three forwards with a height of less than six feet. The 6-foot-3 McLeod was the tallest forward on an Edmonton team that has on occasion in its history learned that skill doesn’t always beat size.
McLeod is also great at transporting the puck. At the 2024 Oilers Skills Competition, he won the fastest skater event with a clocking of 40.5 km/h.
Foegele and McLeod Were Difference Makers
Here’s how much of a difference Foegele and McLeod made for the Oilers: In regular season games when Foegele scored, the Oilers were 28-3-6 (.838 point percentage). In regular season games when McLeod scored, Edmonton was 24-5-1 (.817 point percentage), including 17-0-1 in the last 18 such instances. The Oilers never lost a game in which both Foegele and McLeod scored.
Foegele had the fifth most game-winning goals (GWG) for the Oilers of any player over the last three seasons; McLeod was tied for fifth on the team in GWG in 2023-24.
Oilers Deemed Foegele and McLeod Disposable
Foegele increased his goal and assist totals each season in Edmonton, and based on the $10.5 million they gave him, the Kings seem to think he’ll continue that trajectory.
McLeod never took the big step envisioned in Edmonton, but he’s still youngish, turning 25 in September. Buffalo thought highly enough of him to part ways with the No. 9 overall pick from just two years ago, Savoie.
The Oilers, meanwhile, deemed both of their now-former forwards to be disposable. And so Edmonton now moves onward, hoping that with the likes of Arvidsson and Skinner, they will capture the championship that they came agonizingly close to winning with Foegele and McLeod.
