Before we get into the specifics, I will admit that I’m leery of making player comparisons, because no two situations are completely identical. Keep that in mind when we look at why I see some key similarities between Jake Guentzel’s introduction to the NHL and the Oilers’ Matt Savoie.

Jake Guentzel made his debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016-17 season, when he was 22 years old. The Penguins had won the Cup the previous season and were a very good team.

Guentzel started in the American Hockey League. His first recall came in late November. He played five games from November 21st-30th and he scored 3-1-4 in those five games. He played exclusively on a line with Evgeni Malkin. But the Penguins sent him back down for more seasoning.

He spent another six weeks in the AHL, playing a total of 33 games in the minors that season and produced 21-21-42. He returned to the Penguins on January 16th, 2017 and he’s been in the NHL ever since.

Guentzel scored 13-16-29 in the final 35 games of that regular season. He was an integral part of Pittsburgh’s 2016-17 Stanley Cup-winning team, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 25 playoff games. In those final 35 games, he played 306 minutes with Sidney Crosby, 97 with Nick Bonino, and 70 with Malkin. While his first five games were exclusively with Malkin, in his second recall he played more with Crosby and then in the playoffs, he was a fixture on Crosby’s wing.

The Penguins won the Cup in 2016 with the following forward lines in the playoffs:

Hornqvist-Crosby-Sheary
Kunitz-Malkin-Rust
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Fehr-Cullen-Kuhnackl

When Guentzel arrived in January of 2017, all the forwards except Fehr were on the team. Scott Wilson replaced him. Rust and Hagelin battled injuries in the second half that year and played 18 and 19 games respectively, but Rust was a regular in the playoffs. Hagelin only dressed for 15 of 25 playoff games. Guentzel replaced Hornqvist on the first line and Hornqvist played lower in the lineup in the playoffs.

Head coach Mike Sullivan remained respectful of his veterans, but he didn’t hold Guentzel back due to his inexperience. He gave him opportunities and Guentzel rewarded him with great play.

When I look at Savoie, I see possibilities that he could fill a much-needed void on Leon Draisaitl’s right wing. A winger with some speed who can help produce offensively.

Savoie is 21. He’s one year younger than Guentzel was when he made his NHL debut. Guentzel had turned 21 only six weeks before his NHL debut. Savoie turned 21 on January 1st and made his Oilers debut (and only second NHL game) on February 22nd.

Guentzel is 5’11” and 178 pounds. Savoie is 5’9″ and 180 pounds. They are similar in stature and style of play. Neither is a force physically, but both are willing to play inside and have good sticks and high hockey IQ. Guentzel might be a bit more of a natural shooter, but Savoie can shoot and he’s a bit quicker of a skater.

Both entered the NHL with amazing opportunities. Guentzel had Crosby and Malkin as the top two centres in Pittsburgh, while Savoie has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. All four are elite and guaranteed first-ballot Hall-of-Fame players.

The Oilers have a veteran team that made the Cup Final last year, while Pittsburgh in 2017 was in the exact same boat. They just won while the Oilers lost. I don’t think one game means the Penguins of 2017 and the Oilers of 2025 are that much different. However, the key difference is that many of the Oilers’ current forwards weren’t on their playoff roster that went to the Cup Final last year.

Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen weren’t on the Oilers last year. They weren’t part of the playoff success, and while the Oilers are hopeful some of them will contribute to this postseason, one could argue Kris Knoblauch doesn’t have the same connection to his forwards as Sullivan had to his when they were trying to repeat in 2017. He had players who he’d won with. He’d seen their playoff contribution, and it is normal human nature to believe those players could bring it again. Even with almost the same forward group, Sullivan still incorporated Guentzel into the lineup, and not in a small role.

Guentzel was on the top line. He played with Crosby and led them in playoff goals and was fourth in points.

I’m not saying Savoie needs to be that good, or if he is even capable of it, but considering how limited the goal production from wingers playing with Draisaitl has been this season, I’d like to see Savoie get a look.

Savoie played 13 minutes on Saturday. He assisted on Leon Draisaitl’s goal, by winning a battle behind the net. In 9:43 of 5×5 with Draisaitl they outscored the Flyers 2-1 and outshot them 8-4. Yesterday in Washington, Savoie played the fewest total minutes of any Oilers forward at 10:38 after logging 13:02 on Saturday. Knoblauch switched his lines as the Oilers got dominated in the second period and Savoie got demoted.

It was only his second game, so it is far too early to raise the alarm about a reduction in minutes, but I thought he was one of the few forwards who had some jump. The Oilers are a good team and sit 5th in league standings, but you can’t overlook the lack of goal production from their second-line wingers this season. I understand goals aren’t the only stat to look at. Podkozlin has 20 points 5×5, which is fourth among Oilers forwards. He’s been very good on the forecheck, but he has three goals (5×5) in the last 33 games and in his last 20 games he’s been outscored 15-10 5×5.

Viktor Arvidsson has yet to look comfortable all season. He hasn’t created much. Jeff Skinner likes to carry the puck, but that doesn’t work with the Oilers’ top-two centres, but after getting crushed in GF% early in the season he has outscored the opposition 9-4 since January first. You could argue he deserves a more consistent chance in the top six. My concern with him is his footspeed. I’m not sold that he can be a factor in the playoffs when the pace picks up. We’ll see.

It will be difficult for Savoie to produce as much as Guentzel did in 2017, and since, but even if he doesn’t score as much as Guentzel, and he doesn’t even need to be that good. He just needs to be more productive than the current wingers, and their numbers through 57 games have been below average.

I don’t know if Savoie can be productive, but I’d like to see him given the opportunity. The Oilers could use his energy, smarts and speed.