The Edmonton Oilers have been disappointing, to say the least, this season, and there are many reasons why they haven’t been successful. It’s easy to point the finger at bad goaltending, bad luck, or bad defensive play, but it seems that nothing is clicking for the team.
Ryan McLeod, who doesn’t have a goal this season, hasn’t had a great start offensively and continues to struggle defensively. There are plenty of better options around the NHL, and the Oilers should consider trying to upgrade sooner rather than later.
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McLeod hasn’t been the team’s worst player by any means, but he hasn’t been great. The Oilers have struggled to find their defensive game under two different head coaches this season, and they are still tough to watch at both ends of the ice. If they want to salvage their season, they need to make some moves before it’s too late, and McLeod should be put on the market.
McLeod is young but slightly overpaid. His two-year contract extension, worth $2.1 million per season, is affordable enough to move, and there will be teams interested in bringing him in as a project. The Oilers have always struggled to find offensive bottom-six forwards, and McLeod seems to be yet another one who won’t be able to produce on the third line.
Why Should the Oilers Move Ryan McLeod?
McLeod is a 24-year-old center from Mississauga, Ontario, who was drafted by the Oilers in the second round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft at 40th overall after an explosive offensive showing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Mississauga Steelheads. During his draft year, he scored 26 goals and 70 points through 68 games as the team’s alternate captain. He returned to the OHL the following season with the hope of continuing his development, and he was able to do just that.
He started the season with the Steelheads scoring 12 goals and 38 points through 32 games before he was traded to the Saginaw Spirit where he scored seven goals and 24 points through 31 games. Over the course of his OHL career split between two teams, he scored 61 goals and 194 points through 261 games for a 0.74 points-per-game average.
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McLeod broke into the NHL full-time during the 2021-22 season when he played 71 games with the Oilers, scoring nine goals and 21 points. He followed that up with a 23-point campaign in 2022-23 through 57 games…
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