Oilers Activate Curtis Lazar Off LTIR
Earlier this week, the Oilers had indicated that Curtis Lazar was expected to rejoin the team sometime next month. Instead, he’s ahead of schedule as the team announced (Twitter link) that he would be centering Edmonton’s fourth line today against Anaheim, meaning he has been activated off LTIR.
The 31-year-old is in his first season with the Oilers after signing a one-year deal with them for the minimum salary back in free agency. The hope was that he’d add some grit and faceoff prowess to the fourth line and he has done just that. In just 38 games, he has 77 hits with a 61.4% success rate at the dot, the highest average of his career by a considerable margin.
However, Lazar hasn’t been particularly productive in those outings, contributing just three goals and two assists while averaging just under nine minutes of playing time. He has played in just five games since the start of February, leaving injured in two of them. The most recent one came back on March 3rd when he sustained an undisclosed injury against Ottawa. The LTIR placement meant he had to miss at least 10 games and 24 days which he has now done.
The Oilers now have a decision to make. They have three forwards up on an emergency basis – Josh Samanski, Max Jones, and Roby Jarventie. The latter is slated to be a healthy scratch today which means emergency conditions for his recall no longer exist. That means Edmonton either has to send Jarventie down or convert him to one of five allowable post-deadline regular recalls.
Oilers Sign Tomas Cibulka To Entry-Level Deal
The Oilers announced Friday that they’ve signed undrafted free agent defenseman Tomas Cibulka to a two-year entry-level deal beginning next season. Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a $955K cap hit that breaks down to $930K in 2026-27 and $980K in 2027-28, $80K of which will be paid via signing bonus. His minor league salary each season is $85K.
Cibulka, 22 next week, makes the jump back across the Atlantic after spending the last two years in Czechia’s top division, Extraliga, with HC Motor Ceske Budejovice, his hometown team. Before that, he played through most of his junior career in Eastern Canada, suiting up for the Val-d’Or Foreurs and the Cape Breton Eagles of the QMJHL from 2021-24.
The lefty checks in at 6’0″ and 170 lbs. There were some defensive flaws in his game dating back to junior that haven’t really gone away, but Edmonton hopes his puck-moving ability is enough to help him challenge for a depth role in the NHL.
Over the past two seasons in Ceske Budejovice, he racked up a 13-29–42 scoring line in 90 games with a -10 rating. He was part of the Czechs’ bronze-medal-winning effort at the 2024 World Juniors, posting a pair of goals in seven games.
There’s no path toward a regular NHL role for Cibulka next season. Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, and Jake Walman are all signed for several more seasons and will make up the Oilers’ left side for now.
They have three non-roster lefties signed through next year – Damian Carfagna, Atro Leppanen, and Riley Stillman. All of them have put up good numbers in AHL Bakersfield this season, so for Cibulka to land regular playing time, it’s looking like he or someone else will need to shift to their offside.
Cibulka’s deal will make him a restricted free agent in 2028. The Oilers have now used up 31 of their 50 contract slots for next season.
Oilers Return James Hamblin From Emergency Recall
March 25th: Now that the emergency conditions have subsided, Hamblin is no longer needed on the Oilers roster. To that end, Edmonton announced that they’ve returned Hamblin to AHL Bakersfield from his emergency recall.
March 24th: Set to take on Utah tonight, the Edmonton Oilers announced that James Hamblin has been recalled from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on an emergency basis.
Already down several players, headlined by Leon Draisaitl, the transaction fuels speculation on if another key skater is out tonight. Such is not yet clear. If he’s actually able to draw into the lineup, it’ll be Hamblin’s first NHL action since January 2024. The last time that happened he skated alongside the retired Sam Gagner for the Oil, speaking to his long road back.
Fan interest in the Alberta franchise will be higher than usual from Bakersfield, California, as three of their key forwards are already filling in on the big stage, Roby Jarventie, Josh Samanski, and Max Jones, now Hamblin joining the group. It’s bad timing considering that Bakersfield is currently 10th in the AHL and looking to secure a playoff spot. There’s plenty of adversity in Edmonton too, with 11 games remaining in the regular season, but the Oilers should extend their postseason streak barring a major collapse.
For Hamblin, the 26-year-old Edmonton native ranks fifth in AHL team scoring with 37 points in 54 games. Undrafted, he’s impressively worked his way into 41 games with the Oilers, recording three points.
Standing at 5’10”, Hamblin was always a long shot to stick at the NHL level, but the pending unrestricted free agent has carved out a nice career with the Condors and will enjoy the call up to his hometown club no matter the duration.
Latest On Tristan Jarry
- Veteran netminder Tristan Jarry will return to the crease for the Edmonton Oilers at some point during the team’s upcoming two-game road trip, head coach Kris Knoblauch told the media today. Jarry hasn’t made a start since surrendering seven goals in a loss to the Dallas Stars, which was on March 12. The 30-year-old began the season with a strong 14 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins, posting a .909 save percentage and 9-3-1 record. He’s struggled mightily since his trade to Edmonton, though, putting up a grisly .855 save percentage and 4.17 goals-against average in 15 games. With the Oilers looking to build momentum and lock down a playoff spot in a wide-open Pacific Division, they’ll be hoping Jarry can rediscover some of the form he had at the start of the season.
Emberson Expected To Return Tonight, Lazar Should Return Next Month
- The Oilers could be welcoming back an important defenseman tonight against Tampa Bay. Team reporter Tony Brar relays (Twitter link) that it looks like Ty Emberson will be back in the lineup after missing the last five games with an undisclosed injury. He has been a regular on the third pairing and penalty kill this season so getting him back will be a welcome addition at a time when they’ve had a lot of tough news on the injury front as of late. Meanwhile, Brar adds that center Curtis Lazar is expected to return to the lineup sometime next month. He has been out for nearly three weeks with an undisclosed injury of his own.
Trent Frederic Out Indefinitely
It has been a rough few weeks on the injury front for the Oilers, particularly up front. Within the last few weeks, Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Colton Dach, and Leon Draisaitl have all landed on LTIR, with Janmark being done for the season.
Now, another forward can be added to the injury list. Speaking after practice today, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Sportsnet’s Gene Principe (Twitter link) that winger Trent Frederic is dealing with an injury with no timeline for his return.
The injury was sustained on Thursday against Florida late in the second period while forechecking. He was able to get up and finish the shift but didn’t return to the game for the third.
This is Frederic’s first full season with Edmonton and to say he has underwhelmed would certainly be fair. Signed to an eight-year contract worth $3.85MM per season back in June, the 28-year-old has struggled offensively. Through 67 games this season, he has just four goals and two assists in a little under 11 minutes a night of playing time. However, he does sit second on the team in hits with 170, only behind winger Vasily Podkolzin.
The next man up approach has been used a lot lately thanks to these injuries and the one who will get the next opportunity is winger Roby Jarventie, recalled into the cap space opened up by Draisaitl’s LTIR placement. It will be Jarventie’s first NHL action since November 2023.
In the meantime, Edmonton has more than ample cap space to bring yet another forward up from AHL Bakersfield. However, given that they still have 12 healthy forwards on the roster, they won’t be in a position to utilize an emergency recall. Accordingly, any forward that comes up from the Condors would count against their post-deadline limit of five. If the Oilers want to keep some flexibility on that front for later in the year or into the playoffs should they qualify, they might elect not to bring up a replacement for Frederic right away.
Oilers Place Leon Draisaitl On Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Oilers were expected to eventually move star center Leon Draisaitl to long-term injured reserve after it was announced he’ll be shut down for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury. That’s now happened, per a team announcement, and they’ve used their newfound cap space to recall winger Roby Jarventie from AHL Bakersfield in the corresponding move.
As the ever-durable Draisaitl gears up for the longest absence of his career at one of the worst possible times, the Oilers had just a few days left to be eligible for cap relief by placing him on LTIR. They have 28 days left in their regular season, and there has to be at least 24 days or 10 games – the LTIR minimums – left on the regular-season calendar to initiate an LTIR placement.
Edmonton is now over the cap by nearly $2.5MM, but with Draisaitl now generating some relief in addition to the previously LTIR-bound Colton Dach, Mattias Janmark, and Curtis Lazar, the Oilers’ LTIR pool is now at almost $7MM, leaving them $3.3MM in current cap space after Jarventie’s recall, per PuckPedia.
With all those names sidelined, the 23-year-old Jarventie should be ticketed for his first NHL appearance since debuting with the Senators in November 2023. An early second-round pick in the 2020 draft, he was traded to Edmonton in the 2024 offseason for Xavier Bourgault, but he missed all but two AHL games last season due to knee surgery.
Jarventie initially planned to return home to Finland with Tappara early last offseason, but ended up accepting a two-way extension from the Oilers in June. That decision has proved fruitful for both parties. The 6’2″, 184-lb Jarventie hasn’t clicked at the near point-per-game rate he did in the minors before his injury, but he’s back to at least being a serviceable producer. In 52 outings for Bakersfield, he has 17 goals and 36 points with a +12 rating. That’s good for fifth on the team in scoring.
Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl Expected To Miss Remaining Regular Season
The Edmonton Oilers will be missing major firepower for Tuesday night’s divisional matchup against the San Jose Sharks. Superstar Leon Draisaitl has been declared out for the matchup due to a lower-body injury sustained in Sunday’s win over the Nashville Predators. Draisaitl left that game in the first period after taking a hard bump from Predators winger Ozzy Wiesblatt. No update was provided after the game.
After announcing that he would miss Tuesday night’s game, the Oilers released an additional statement sharing that Draisaitl will have to miss the remaining regular season. He will not need surgery for the injury and should be available for the start of playoffs, general manager Stan Bowman told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
This news will be a major blow to the Oilers offense as they look to seal their spot in the top-three of the Pacific Division. Draisaitl has stayed red-hot since Edmonton returned from the Olympic break. He has six goals and 17 points in his last 10 games, bringing his year-long totals up to 35 goals and 97 points in just 65 games. The 30 year old ranks second on the Oilers in scoring behind Connor McDavid, who has already reached 114 points in 68 games. The two are one of the best duos in the league whether they’re playing alongside each other or not – making Edmonton’s task of replacing Draisaitl that much more challenging.
Max Jones will step into the lineup to fill Draisaitl’s hole. Jones has appeared in nine NHL games, and scored one point, this season. He has also racked up 10 goals, 18 points, and 61 penalty minutes in 39 AHL games. He is a veteran of 293 NHL games with 66 points, split evenly, to show for it. Jones should assume a bottom-line role, while Vasily Podkolzin and Matthew Savoie move up the lineup to bridge the top-six. Podkolzin has three points in his last six games and 30 points on the year, while Savoie has two points in his last two games and 27 points in total. The two should keep play moving just enough to earn Edmonton’s other star talent – McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman – scoring chances. Meanwhile the Oilers brass will hold their breath until a clearer timeline for Draisaitl’s return becomes available. The team expects to have updates before the weekend.
If that will be enough to sustain Edmonton’s offense across their remaining 14 games will be a larger question. The Oilers have scored the second-most goals in the NHL (238) behind only the Colorado Avalanche (249). Much of that scoring came from the one-two punch that is McDavid and Draisaitl. Without one of those hooks, the Oilers will need to look towards Hyman to make up for short-term scoring. This could also be a major opportunity for Savoie or Isaac Howard to step up as scoring pieces, after quieter starts to their pro careers than many expected.
Latest On Leon Draisaitl
The Oilers are a tale of two extremes, surrendering 232 goals which has them right among the worst in the league, but simultaneously sitting second in ones forced with 238. As a result they’ve ended up perfectly in the middle of the league, 16th, and third in the Pacific.
Edmonton hosts a possible playoff-snatcher in San Jose tomorrow night. Apparently set to do so without Draisaitl, they must shore things up defensively. Giving up 3.4 goals per game, simply out-scoring their issues will be much more difficult. It’s a feeling not foreign to the Oilers throughout the Connor McDavid/Draisaitl era, but at some point, something has to give if they’ll make a third straight run and finally get over the hump.
Latest On Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins
A potentially major storyline has emerged tonight as Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl left tonight against Nashville, noted by Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The team has still yet to confirm his status, but he did not return to start the second or third period.