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Oilers Still Evaluating; Walman Day-To-Day

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It has been a consistently inconsistent season for the Oilers who have shown flashes of dominance at times and have struggled mightily at others.  The end result has been a middling 9-9-5 record to start the campaign.  Despite that, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that management isn’t quite ready to start making moves yet and would like to get closer to the 30-game mark which would allow them to ideally have a healthier roster to help them better assess what they need to do.  More specifically, the better assessment might be what they can afford to do as they’ve been operating in LTIR all season and will have very limited cap space when the team is fully healthy, putting them in a money-in, money-out situation when it comes to the trade market.

  • Still with the Oilers, defenseman Jake Walman is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, notes team reporter Tony Brar (Twitter link). Head coach Kris Knoblauch suggested that the blueliner should be back within a week, meaning an IR placement is unlikely.  Walman is in his first full season with Edmonton after being acquired near the trade deadline last season and has been impactful, collecting 10 points in 17 games while logging a little more than 20 minutes per night of ice time.

Oilers Recall Connor Clattenburg, Place Noah Philp On LTIR

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The Oilers have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game on Saturday against Florida.  The team announced that they have recalled forward Connor Clattenburg from AHL Bakersfield.  To create enough cap space to be able to afford the recall, forward Noah Philp has been placed on LTIR.

Clattenburg was a fifth-round pick back in the 2024 draft, going 160th overall in his second year of eligibility.  The 20-year-old had 16 goals and 19 assists along with 108 penalty minutes in 46 games last season with OHL Flint before making his professional debut with one late-season game with Bakersfield.

This is Clattenburg’s first full professional season, one spent exclusively with the Condors to this point.  His offensive production has been rather limited thus far with just one goal and one assist in 15 games although his 59 penalty minutes are the fourth-highest in the league.  If he gets into Edmonton’s lineup, it’s likely that he’ll be suiting up on the fourth line.

As for Philp, he suffered an upper-body injury earlier this week and while the initial diagnosis was that he’d miss at least the next three games, he’ll be out considerably longer with this move as LTIR carries a minimum absence of 10 games and 24 days.  The 27-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has primarily played on the fourth line with the Oilers; he has two goals and an assist in 15 appearances while averaging 10:02 per night.

Oilers’ Curtis Lazar, Noah Philp Out For At Least A Week

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Oilers forwards Curtis Lazar and Noah Philp have been shut down for the remainder of the team’s road trip due to upper-body injuries, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters today (including the team’s Bob Stauffer). With no available cap space for a corresponding recall, the Oilers will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the remainder of the trip, Knoblauch said.

Both played in Monday night’s 5-1 loss to the Sabres on Edmonton’s fourth line with Mattias Janmark. Lazar finished the game, but Philp’s last shift came with 16:50 remaining in the third period. It’s unclear when either player got banged up.

Lazar, 30, had been an infrequent option for Edmonton to start the year but had been getting more reps as of late, making five straight appearances. A spot in Edmonton’s forward group had opened up courtesy of an undisclosed injury to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as well as the club’s reassignment of Isaac Howard to AHL Bakersfield. Still, he’s been a virtual non-factor after signing a league-minimum deal with the Oilers over the summer. He’s been limited to one goal in nine games and had a -3 rating while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. He’s been somewhat valuable as a defensive-zone faceoff specialist, though, winning 55.9% of his draws. His usage means he won’t be sniffing the career-high 25 points he set two years ago with the Devils, though.

The 27-year-old Philp has drawn in on Edmonton’s fourth line with more consistency. He was scratched for a couple of stretches in October but has remained in the lineup since then, meaning tonight’s game against the Capitals will be his first missed game since Oct. 30. The right-shot center has occasionally factored in on the Oilers’ penalty kill and averaged 10:02 per game at all strengths in his most extended stint on an NHL roster thus far. Through 15 appearances, the Alberta native has two goals and an assist with a -7 rating, 24 hits, and two blocks. His 56.9% winning percentage in the dot is the second-highest on the team behind Adam Henrique.

Their unavailability for the next three games at a minimum makes the Oilers’ financial situation quite dicey. As they’re rolling 11-7, they don’t have any healthy extra skaters available. If someone were to sustain an injury tonight and be unavailable to play tomorrow against the Lightning, Edmonton would have to play a skater short in Tampa before being eligible to recall a no-cap-hit emergency exception from Bakersfield for the final game of their road trip against the Panthers on Saturday.

The Oilers could also avoid that by shifting Nugent-Hopkins to long-term injured reserve, but doing so would rule him out for the rest of the month. Considering he’s already past his initial projected return date, that’s unlikely.

Akey Reassigned To Bakersfield

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  • The Oilers have reassigned defenseman Beau Akey from ECHL Fort Wayne to AHL Bakersfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. The first-year pro missed the first month of the season with an injury and was sent down to the Komets in what amounted to a four-game conditioning stint where he had his first professional goal.

Maple Leafs Claim Troy Stecher Off Waivers From Oilers

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The Maple Leafs have turned to the waiver wire to add some depth on the back end.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed blueliner Troy Stecher off waivers from Edmonton.  To free up a roster spot, the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 11th.

The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers after being acquired from Arizona back in 2024.  After playing somewhat of a regular role last season when he made 66 appearances, playing time has been much harder to come by in 2025-26.  This season, Stecher has only played in six games and has been held off the scoresheet while adding three blocked shots in just under 14 minutes per night of playing time.

In his 10-year NHL career, Stecher has played in 566 games with six different teams and hasn’t been with a franchise for more than four seasons.  He has 22 goals and 95 assists to his credit along with 629 blocked shots with a 17:25 ATOI.

Knowing that a cap crunch was coming with Zach Hyman nearing a return (he was officially activated earlier today and will make his season debut tonight), Edmonton had been looking to move Stecher in recent weeks.  Clearly, no move came to fruition which resulted in yesterday’s waiver placement.  With Stecher coming off the roster, the Oilers now have $212.5K remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.

Toronto is currently without blueliner Chris Tanev who is out with an upper-body injury sustained in his first game after returning from a concussion.  His injury has resulted in Dakota Mermis serving as the reserve defenseman in recent weeks.  It’s possible that Stecher is being eyed as an upgrade for that spot although he could push Philippe Myers for playing time as well.

Stecher is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM contract which carries a $787.5K cap charge, making him a low-cost pickup for the Maple Leafs.  He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

As for Stolarz, he left Tuesday’s game against Boston due to an upper-body injury.  Initially listed as out day-to-day, he’ll now miss at least a week past the 11th, ruling him out of Toronto’s next two games.  He’s someone who could probably benefit from the rest as the 31-year-old has struggled mightily out of the gate, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in his first 13 appearances.  Joseph Woll was recently recalled from his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Marlies and will be in uniform tonight against Chicago with Dennis Hildeby being their other active option.

Zach Hyman Returning From Injury

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  • Earlier this week, we covered news that Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman was set to make his season debut very soon. Today, the Oilers confirmed that, barring something unforeseen, Hyman will make his season debut tonight in Raleigh when Edmonton takes on the Carolina Hurricanes. Hyman’s return is a major boost for the Oilers. The 33-year-old scored 54 goals in 2023-24 and ranked fifth on the team in scoring in 2024-25.

Oilers Place Troy Stecher On Waivers, Reassign Isaac Howard

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The Oilers announced they’ve placed defenseman Troy Stecher on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL Bakersfield. They also demoted rookie Isaac Howard, sending him directly to Bakersfield.

Stecher, 31, was acquired from the Coyotes back at the 2024 trade deadline before signing a two-year, $1.575MM extension to remain with Edmonton through this season. An undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2016, Stecher immediately broke into a top-four role with Vancouver but peaked early on, never eclipsing the 24 points he put up in his rookie year.

The puck-moving blue liner ended up stabilizing as a more useful third-pairing piece, leading to him moving around quite a bit. He was picked up by a contender for added depth at three straight trade deadlines – going from the Red Wings to the Kings in 2022 and the Coyotes to the Flames in 2023 before returning to Arizona in free agency and being dealt to the Oilers in 2024. Over those three years plus last season in Edmonton, Stecher put together an 8-31–37 scoring line with a -6 rating in 230 appearances.

Those numbers were brought down by a difficult 2024-25 campaign for Stecher in Edmonton, in which he was limited to seven points and a -2 rating in 66 games and averaged just 13:52 of ice time per contest. He was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, although for his six-figure cap hit, he wasn’t being paid as much more than veteran insurance. Edmonton’s pickup of Jake Walman at last year’s deadline and the emergence of Alec Regula into a semi-regular role have pushed him further down the depth chart, though.

Stecher has now been a healthy scratch in seven straight and has only played in six of 19 games this season, going without a point. As a result, Edmonton has been looking to find a trade partner for him. With no success so far, they’re letting him hit the wire to see if another team wants his services at an affordable $787,500 cap hit for the remainder of the season.

Howard’s demotion is more related to Zach Hyman’s anticipated activation from long-term injured reserve tomorrow, but it won’t be the worst thing for his development, either. The 2022 first-round pick is in his first professional season after initially telling the Lightning he wouldn’t sign with them, which ultimately led to Edmonton acquiring his rights over the summer and subsequently inking him to his entry-level deal. Howard was left off Edmonton’s opening night roster for cap purposes, but was recalled before they played their first game.

As a result, Howard has played in all 17 contests for the Oilers but hasn’t been terribly effective. Part of that is because he hasn’t had a chance to play with premier linemates as he may have hoped. There was speculation the 21-year-old lefty might get a trial in top-six minutes alongside either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, particularly with Hyman sidelined to start the season, but that never came to pass. He’s spent virtually the whole season in fourth-line duties, averaging 9:30 of ice time per game. His production has been limited to two goals and one assist with a -2 rating.

Howard should receive first-line minutes with Bakersfield. The Wisconsin native had a 2024-25 season for the ages before turning pro, taking home the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey, as well as a Big Ten championship with Michigan State, while recording a 26-26–52 scoring line in 37 games.

Oilers To Activate Zach Hyman This Weekend

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There is light at the end of the tunnel for Zach Hyman. According to Edmonton Oilers reporter Tony Brar, the Oilers will activate Hyman this weekend, and he’ll make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

It’s been a long time coming for Hyman. The former 54-goal scorer has been recovering from wrist surgery since Game 5 of the 2025 Western Conference Final and hasn’t appeared in an NHL contest since May 27th.

Despite having a relatively disappointing 2024-25 campaign, it’s safe to say that the Oilers have missed him dearly. Edmonton is tied for 22nd in even-strength goals through their first 18 games of the 2025-26 season, which is wholly unacceptable for a team with the ability to have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice at the same time. Of the 81 goals that Hyman has scored over the last two years, 60 of them have been while the Oilers are at even strength.

Still, although Hyman will undoubtedly help Edmonton’s offensive struggles, he shouldn’t be considered a cure-all. The Oilers are 29th in goals against at even strength (42), something that Hyman won’t be able to help with too much. Even though Edmonton’s special teams have been solid to start the year, their even-strength play is why they’ve begun on an 8-6-4 record and are barely holding onto postseason positioning as we approach American Thanksgiving.

He’s a gritty winger and has proven to be a more than capable first-line winger, but Hyman doesn’t have the defensive prowess to really turn things around for the Oilers. There’s no questioning that the team is not one first-line winger away from winning the Stanley Cup, and will need to find a way to procure suitable goaltending before the end of the season if they want to have a realistic opportunity.

Oilers Place Ryan Nugent-Hopkins On IR; Activate Mattias Janmark

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The Oilers announced Monday that they’ve placed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve and activated Mattias Janmark in his place. The team also increased their LTIR pool by $1.3MM by shifting winger Kasperi Kapanen from standard to long-term injured reserve, putting them within reach of compliance when they activate Zach Hyman from LTIR as expected in the coming days.

Nugent-Hopkins’ injury, which head coach Kris Knoblauch said won’t keep him out longer than the week required for IR, comes as the Oilers are reeling from a 9-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday. The 32-year-old has been the least of Edmonton’s worries through their 6-6-4 start, though. His -11 rating and declining possession metrics through 16 games are something of a concern, but he’s third on the team in scoring with five goals and 11 assists for a point per game. He’s averaging 18:49 of ice time per game and picking up the slack left by depth names like Trent Frederic, Isaac Howard, Matthew Savoie, and David Tomasek, who have a combined nine points despite all being expected to see tryouts higher up in Edmonton’s lineup to help replace the names they lost to last offseason’s cap crunch.

It wasn’t clear when exactly Nugent-Hopkins got hurt, but it most definitely happened during that Colorado drubbing. He played a season-low 14:50 in that game, in which he was held off the scoresheet and posted a -4 rating.

Janmark, who turns 33 in December, is entering his fourth year in Edmonton after initially signing as a free agent in 2022. The 2013 third-rounder had just two goals in 80 games last year but has found a consistent home on the Oilers’ penalty kill. He and Nugent-Hopkins formed the nucleus of that group last year, at least in the forward department, on a unit that finished right around league average at 78.2%. The Oilers have gotten off to a fine start shorthanded without him, killing at an 81.8% rate for 12th in the league. With that in mind, it would be understandable if the Oilers were hesitant to give a regular role to someone with just six goals in the last two seasons, given their existing depth scoring issues.

Still, the Hyman, Kapanen, and Nugent-Hopkins injuries figure to give Janmark a chance at capturing consistent minutes again. Kapanen had two assists through his first six games before sustaining an undisclosed injury in mid-October that has him out week-to-week.

Mattias Janmark, Zach Hyman Nearing Injury Returns

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  • The Edmonton Oilers have a few injury updates of their own, courtesy of Oilers TV host Tony Brar. Mattias Janmark is reportedly “very close” to returning from his injury, one that has kept him from making his season debut in 2025-26. In addition, Zach Hyman is nearing a return to the ice, it’s likely to be within the next week and could come as early as Monday. Like Janmark, Hyman also has not yet played in the 2025-26 season. Both players play regular roles in Edmonton. Hyman is a key goal scorer and offensive contributor (he scored 54 goals in 2023-24 and had 27 last season) while Janmark is a steady, reliable bottom-six winger who plays a regular role on the team’s penalty kill. The Oilers’ penalty kill currently ranks No. 15 in the NHL, so the return of Janmark could help the unit achieve a notable boost in efficiency.

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