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Extensions for Ostlund and Minten give Oilers outline to lock up Matt Savoie

Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By Tyler Yaremchuk

Sep 14, 2026, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 14, 2026, 13:20 EDT

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Tomorrow is the final day for NHL teams to hand out contracts with eight-year terms as the league’s new collective bargaining agreement will fully kick in.

We’ve seen some teams take advantage of this in the past few weeks, with the Vancouver Canucks signing Zeev Buium to an eight-year deal with an AAV of $9.38 million, committing a total of $75.04 million to a player who has appeared in just 76 career NHL games.

The new trend is that teams are trying to get out ahead of things with young players in hopes that the salary cap will continue to rise by $8 million or more every offseason and these contracts will turn into bargains in a few years.

The Boston Bruins also did this with Fraser Minten Monday, who after his rookie season got a seven-year deal worth a total of $50.4 million.

I said at the time that the Minten deal was an interesting comparable for the Edmonton Oilers and Matt Savoie.

Both players are currently 22-years-old and coming off their first full seasons in the league. They also had almost identical stat lines last season, with Savoie scoring one more goal and one more assist than Minten.

I got some pushback on the idea that the Oilers would be wise to try and lock up Savoie to a long-term deal now as opposed to waiting for next summer when he is a restricted free agent.

I understand why some fans might be hesitant to give a player with just one year under his belt a long-term extension. There is definitely risk that comes with doing that.

What if Matt Savoie is nothing more than a 15-20 goal scorer and now he’s making the kind of money that you’d want a 25-30 goal scorer to make?

At the same time, what if Savoie takes another step this season and becomes the 25+ goal scorer, who can be one of the team’s most reliable penalty killers, and has solid defensive metrics?

If that happens, we’re no longer talking about a player who signs a long-term contract with a $7 million AAV. He could get much more expensive, or he might not want to sign a long-term deal.

Another very interesting comparable dropped earlier today with the Buffalo Sabres signing Noah Ostlund to an eight-year deal with a $6.6 million AAV.

Ostlund’s probably an even better comparable for Savoie than Minten is.

Ostlund was taken seven picks after Savoie in the 2022 NHL Draft, and they both produced 0.45 points-per-game in their rookie years. One key difference is that Ostlund doesn’t kill penalties, which is an area where Savoie brought the Oilers a lot of value even in his first year in the league.

Ostlund’s $6.6 million AAV is probably a good floor for Savoie, and Minten’s $7.2 million is probably a good ceiling. He’s probably worth a little bit more than Ostlund because of his ability to kill penalties and a little bit less than Minten because he isn’t a centre.

So, what could a deal for Savoie look like?

I wonder if a seven-year, $6.95 million deal would make sense for both sides?

If Savoie becomes a 25+ goal scorer that the Oilers can lock into their top-six on a regular basis, then he will be a tremendous value if he’s making under $7 million.

The cost certainty for the Oilers would be huge since their other two top-six wingers, Zach Hyman and Vasiliy Podkolzin, are signed for at least the next two seasons.

For Savoie, a seven-year deal allows him to put almost $50 million in his pocket and also puts him in a spot to play next to either Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid, potentially rack up some 30-goal seasons and then become a UFA at the age of 30 when he could potentially land a huge contract.

It really does feel like a win-win, and if you’re one of the Oilers fans who wants the Oilers to make Savoie ‘prove it’ and would prefer that they wait until the end of next season, let’s say he goes out and does prove it.

If Savoie scores 25 goals next season and maybe even has some playoff success, it’s not unrealistic to think that he could cost the Oilers north of $8.5 million to $9 million next summer on a long-term deal.

Either that or GM Stan Bowman would have to go the bridge contract route and that is something that has bit the Oilers in the behind before with players like Darnell Nurse and to some extent Evan Bouchard.

Also, the last thing the Oilers should be willing to risk is Savoie heading into a summer where he can sign an offer sheet with another club.

Handing out expensive, long-term deals might make some fans a little uneasy, and there is of course, potential downside to signing any player to a long-term deal, but I’m not sure the Oilers can risk having Matt Savoie become an even more expensive player after a big year.

Imagine if they hadn’t signed Podkolzin to a three-year, $2.95 million contract before last season? Podkolzin probably would be making north of $5 million next year after seeing his goal total go from eight to 19.

This is the new-age NHL. Young players will get paid, and smart teams will properly assess which players are worth taking a risk on to try and turn them into super-value contracts down the line.

Savoie is the kind of player the Oilers should feel very comfortable taking a risk on.

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