In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, the team made some interesting choices on Sunday, electing to put some surprising names on waivers. Meanwhile, some familiar faces are back on the ice at practice as the team deals with some concerning injury issues. Finally, the Oilers are said to be one of the teams actively looking at Sam Lafferty before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
Oilers Were in On Sam Lafferty
Elliotte Friedman said on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast: “I do think the Oilers had been one of the teams that talked with the Leafs about Sam Lafferty. I think the Oilers had some interest in Lafferty going back to last season, but they obviously couldn’t work out a deal.”
The reason was the injury issue to Markus Niemelainen and concerns about salary cap struggles without the ability to put some of their injured players on LTIR. With the team tight to the cap and the need to remain flexible when some of these injured players returned, there really wasn’t a way to add his $1.15 million contract without corresponding moves, which the team couldn’t make because of the handcuffs they were dealing with.
Lafferty would have been an intriguing pick-up for the Oilers. Had they landed him, it probably would have sealed the fate for a player like Adam Erne.
Ekholm, Kulak, McLeod All Back on the Ice
Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, Ryan McLeod, and Erne are all on the ice for the Oilers practice on Monday. Erne remains technically unsigned while on his PTO, but a contract could be coming later on Monday. Kulak was also on the ice, which is a good sign because he was dealing with a bit of a nagging issue. He was with the main group, so he should be good to go for opening night.
While it’s too soon to know for sure which players will be ready for opening night and who might not, it is a good sign that all are skating and not far from a return. If time is missed, it will be minimal.
As expected by the waiver complications, Niemelainen (based on his injury news) was not on the ice for practice, nor were Raphael Lavoie, Lane Pedersen, or Ben Gleason.
According to Ryan Rishaug, Ekholm was the seventh defenseman on the ice for drills and practice. The hope is that he’s able to bump up to the pairing with Philip Broberg. As of now, it’s Broberg and Vincent Desharnais, which should be a concern for the Oilers due to their lack of inexperience and inconsistencies.
Raphael Lavoie Clears Waivers
The biggest concern for fans on Monday seemed to be the fate of Lavoie, who could get claimed by another team. He wasn’t. In fact, all three players who were placed on waivers by the Oilers cleared on Monday.
With so many players hitting waivers on Sunday, Lavoie just wasn’t a standout for clubs that could actually afford to add someone. Instead, names like Lassi Thomson were claimed by the Senators, the Colorado Avalanche claimed Ivan Prosvetov, the Flames claimed AJ Greer from Bruins, and the Penguins claimed John Ludvig.
Related: Explaining the Oilers Odd Waiver Moves On Sunday
It’s never good news if a player you spend time developing and have penciled into your future plans is lost, but there were a number of teams thinking about the same thing Monday afternoon. All of them were forced to make decisions they didn’t necessarily want to, and it can be argued that Lavoie was close to making the team, but didn’t. He could still be called back up and play opening night depending on how other cap situations are sorted out.