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The Edmonton Oilers have placed forwards Raphael Lavoie and Lane Pederson and d-man Ben Gleason on waivers.
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My take
1. We will start off with the key fact here, a possible injury to Oilers d-man Markus Niemelainen that may be complicating Edmonton’s opening day considerations, as Niemelainen can’t be sent down while he’s injured. That tied Edmonton’s hands in terms of waiving other players. As Puckpedia said on X, “The Oilers waiving Lavoie, Pederson, & Gleason could suggest Niemelainen is injured. Injured players cannot be sent down. Since he’s on a 1-way contract, his full cap hit counts against cap while injured (he does not qualify for Season Opening IR).”
My Cult colleague Kurt Leavins wrote: “On defense, the Mattias Ekholm injury is a concern. It certainly does not appear to have resolved itself as fast as hoped. They would be right not to rush him. And while Brett Kulak is back skating it has not been with the main group yet. While those two things have been playing out, Markus Niemelainen has also been absent from the ice. Whether it is a relapse from last year’s injury or something else, who knows. But that is three D-men that may not be able to answer the bell on Wednesday. And that would be a problem, forcing both the G.M. and coaching staff to be…well…creative.”
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2. On the X platform, Cult of Hockey contributor Ira Cooper had this to say: “Let’s not forget, a player that clears waivers doesn’t have to be sent down, they can stay on the roster, however, this likely means that one or both of Ekholm and Kulak aren’t ready for Wed but will not be placed on LTIR… They very well could be going 11/6 on Wednesday – having 8 d-men on the roster but two that are hurt and only 11 forwards. This would allow for emergency recall for Saturday. The surprise is keeping Niemo over Gleason based on camp performance. All three likely clear.”
Cooper noted on Niemelainen: “Niemo is hurt and can’t be sent down and it’s being reported will likely NOT be on LTIR so, well, he takes up cap hit and they will have 8D and 11F on the opening roster tomorrow (unless they send Broberg down) – 3 of those D are hurt too.”
3. The risky business here? There’s a decent chance that another team will claim Raphael Lavoie on waivers and the Oilers will lose a promising young forward and get no return. I suspect Lavoie will clear, but there’s been plenty of speculation he’ll be grabbed up. As NHL prospect evaluator Byron Bader put it: “Raphael Lavoie is a good potential waiver add for a team. Good NHLer odds. Only 23.”
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4. Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said he thought all three waived players had good camps but it was necessary to do this.
5. Adam Erne is still in camp without a contract, and it’s possible he’ll factor in here. Strange to think, though, that he beat out Lavoie for a roster spot. Does that add up?
6. Ben Gleason played well but I suspect he and Pederson will pass through waivers. Some folks would have axed European players like Mattias Janmark and Philip Broberg, but Janmark is an outstanding defender with some versatility and offensive punch, while Broberg is 22-years-old with a great skillset. Broberg has also been coming on strong as camp has progressed. The Oilers need to find out what they have in this young defender. I suspect they won’t be disappointed.
At the Cult of Hockey
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