Matthew Savoie enters Mike Babcock's Oilers season with a new contract comparable that could make Edmonton's next negotiation much tougher.
Pittsburgh's 8-year, $32,000,000 commitment to Ville Koivunen immediately caught attention around Edmonton because both young forwards are being paid for what they could become.
Koivunen's $4,000,000 cap hit is the interesting part. Pittsburgh accepted development risk now in exchange for the possibility of holding a valuable contract once his offensive game takes another step.
Savoie already has a stronger NHL scoring season to place on the table. The 22-year-old produced 18 goals and 37 points while playing all 82 games in 2025-26.
He's also still on his entry-level contract at an $886,667 cap hit. That deal runs through 2026-27 before Savoie reaches restricted free agency.
That gives general manager Stan Bowman one more season before the real decision arrives. Edmonton can pursue certainty early or watch Savoie establish his price with another year of NHL production.
The immediate reaction online pushed the potential number as high as $7,000,000 on the low end for a long-term deal. That's speculation, not an established asking price, but Koivunen's contract explains why the conversation has started.
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Oilers could face a much bigger price tag on Matthew Savoie's next contract
The comparison isn't perfectly clean. Koivunen received his contract based heavily on projection, while Savoie has already put together a full NHL season and shown he can produce inside Edmonton's lineup.
That difference could work against the Oilers. If $4,000,000 is now a price attached to upside before a major breakout, Savoie's camp can point toward actual NHL production when negotiations begin.
A bridge contract would give Edmonton more time to evaluate his ceiling. It would also push the bigger negotiation further down the road, when Savoie could arrive with considerably more leverage.
The alternative is buying long-term years before another scoring jump. That approach carries risk, but Pittsburgh just showed why teams are willing to make that bet on young forwards.
Edmonton's problem is that Savoie doesn't need a massive breakout to change the math. Another productive season in the top six or a larger power-play role could quickly move his value away from Koivunen's number.
Koivunen's deal didn't set Savoie's next contract at $7,000,000. It did establish a new floor for the conversation, and Edmonton now has one season to decide how aggressively it wants to bet on Savoie's ceiling.
Should Edmonton sign Matthew Savoie long term before his price climbs?
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