- Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that Kailer Yamamoto is not with the Edmonton Oilers on their road trip that starts tonight in New Jersey. The 24-year-old forward hasn’t played since November 11 and hasn’t registered a single goal this season. Spector notes that Yamamoto “hasn’t been right” since a big collision in the preseason.
Oilers Rumors
Kailer Yamamoto Returns To The Ice
- Edmonton Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto has returned to the ice after sustaining an undisclosed injury over a week ago. Head coach Jay Woodcroft said today that Yamamoto skated on his own, and he remains hopeful Yamamoto joins the team “at some point” on their upcoming three-game New York/New Jersey road trip. The Oilers hope that Yamamoto can come back refreshed and help spark some depth scoring, which has been a serious issue for Edmonton this season.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Brad Malone
The Edmonton Oilers have added to their roster, calling up forward Brad Malone from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
The 33-year-old Malone has gotten into two games for the Oilers so far this year, and has played in ten for the Condors. He has five points in those ten games with the Condors and is relied upon as priority organizational depth due to his leadership qualities and sound two-way game.
Last season, Malone scored 39 points in 52 AHL games, playing as an all-situations, heavily relied-upon center. His quality play not only earned him minutes in two of the Oilers’ playoff games, it also earned him a contract extension in the summer.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft in particular trusts Malone to fill in when injuries strike the Oilers, and part of that trust can likely be attributed to Woodcroft’s time coaching Malone when Woodcroft was the bench boss of the Condors. With Kailer Yamamoto not yet ready to return to the lineup, Malone draws in to provide some safe bottom-six play.
Kailer Yamamoto Yet To Skate, Listed As Day-To-Day
- Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto has yet to skate since suffering an undisclosed injury in a 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on November 10, according to head coach Jay Woodcroft. Woodcroft called the young forward day-to-day, but said it was doubtful he’d play Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Yamamoto has a paltry three assists through 13 games this season despite receiving top-six minutes.
Tyler Benson Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Edmonton Oilers are now one step closer to getting forward Tyler Benson back in the lineup. The winger has now been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, on a conditioning loan, says Bakersfield. It’s still unclear when the Oilers expect Benson to rejoin the NHL squad, however they will have 14 days with which to get Benson back into game shape and assure he can be fit onto the NHL roster. Edmonton currently has just under $3.6MM in available LTIR space, though Benson represents $750K of it, and 22 of 23 roster spots spoken for.
Benson’s injury came at a tough time for the 24-year-old who figured to make the team out of training camp as an effective low-cost depth forward. The winger has been working to establish himself as a regular in the Oilers lineup, playing in 29 games with the team last season. With Edmonton facing a tough salary cap situation this season, getting Benson back healthy won’t necessarily have the impact getting Evander Kane back in the lineup would, but should give the team an affordable player capable of playing NHL minutes.
At issue for Benson, a former second-round pick of the Oilers, is his production. In those 29 games last season, the winger had just two points, despite being an offensive force down in the AHL. In 18 games with Bakersfield last season, Benson had 12 points, as well as 36 points in 36 games the year prior, and a career-high 66 points in 68 games back in 2018-19. Edmonton’s need for affordable depth should give Benson another chance to prove he belongs at this level even after this injury setback, but he’ll likely need to shine this time around.
Oilers Unlikely To Make Trade Of Significance To Replace Kane
While Evander Kane will be on LTIR for the next several months, don’t expect the Oilers to be active when it comes to trying to replace the power forward. As Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays in TSN’s latest Insider Trading segment (video link), Edmonton isn’t expected to make a move of significance to add a replacement. Since Kane is expected to be able to return down the stretch, they’re unlikely to want to take on a sizable contract knowing they’ll have to get back to cap compliance in order to bring Kane back to the active roster. Short of AHL recalls (of which they’ve already made two), Ken Holland probably won’t be much more active than that when it comes to bringing up a replacement. They do have one open roster spot still and ample LTIR space so one other recall could come at some point.
Evander Kane Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve
After undergoing an emergency procedure following a scary incident last night, Evander Kane has been placed on long-term injured reserve by the Edmonton Oilers. Kane’s wrist was lacerated by a skate blade, pouring blood onto the ice and requiring immediate medical attention. After being transported to the hospital, the Oilers announced that Kane was in stable condition and would undergo a surgical procedure. He has now been ruled out for the next three to four months, though no other details were revealed.
With the added cap flexibility and an extra roster spot, the team has recalled Mattias Janmark and Klim Kostin from the minor leagues.
In a post earlier today, Kane released a statement thanking the training staff of both the Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with the paramedics and doctors that helped to repair the injury. Though there aren’t many details on what exactly was damaged, Kane vowed that he will be back and suggested that it could have been much worse without their immediate help.
The 31-year-old winger wasn’t scoring goals at quite the incredible pace he set after arriving in Edmonton last season but he was still having a great start to the year. With five goals and 13 points in his first 14 games (including the nine shifts he had last night before exiting), he was actually on pace to set a new career high in points. His previous best was 57, set back in 2011-12, thanks to a number of seasons cut short for various reasons. Kane has never played in more than 78 games in a single season and that trend will continue with this months-long absence.
For the Oilers, losing one of your best offensive weapons is never a good situation but they do have some strong depth coming in. Both Kostin and Janmark have NHL experience, especially the latter, who has been a full-time player for the past six years. In 67 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last year, Janmark had nine goals and 25 points. Kostin meanwhile played 40 times for the St. Louis Blues in 2021-22, scoring nine points.
While neither of them can fill the role that Kane had, forward depth hasn’t been the calling card of the Oilers in years past. At least this time they have legitimate options to insert into the lineup, though there will be some shuffling required to figure out the best way forward.
Evander Kane “Stable” After Wrist Injury
There was a scary scene in tonight’s game in Tampa between the Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers when forward Evander Kane left the game after suffering a skate laceration to the wrist. The Oilers announced later during the game that Kane is stable after the concerning cut and has been transported to a local hospital.
Kane was off to yet another strong start in Edmonton, notching five goals and eight assists for a point-per-game pace through 13 contests. He was also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the second time in the past five years.
He suffered the injury after Lightning winger Pat Maroon inadvertently cut Kane’s wrist with his skate.
While there’s no timeline for the injury at this point, skate lacerations to any part of the body are generally not a short-term absence. Then-Toronto Maple Leafs winger Ilya Mikheyev missed 31 games with a similar injury in the 2019-20 season.
Edmonton Oilers Assign Desharnais, Lavoie To AHL
- The Edmonton Oilers are getting some bodies back, as they have activated both Vincent Desharnais and Raphael Lavoie from the season-opening injured reserve and assigned them to the AHL. Lavoie, 22, was the 38th overall pick in 2019 and scored 26 points in 56 games for Bakersfield last season.
Edmonton Oilers Activate Carter Savoie, Send Him To AHL
The Edmonton Oilers have announced that forward Carter Savoie has been activated off of the team’s injured non-roster list and been loaned to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Savoie, 20, has been out with a lower-body injury that has kept him from making his 2022-23 season debut. With this move, he’ll now head to Bakersfield to continue his young professional career.
One of the Oilers’ top prospects, Savoie turned pro late last season after an extremely successful collegiate career at the University of Denver. At Denver, Savoie was a star sophomore player, scoring 23 goals and 45 points, leading the Pioneers to the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship.
A fourth-round pick at the 2020 draft, Savoie’s college success has led to his fast rise in prospect rankings. The Condors are currently 2-2-1 and will certainly stand to benefit should Savoie’s scoring numbers translate from the NCAA level to the pro level.
While he might not be seen in Edmonton anytime soon with the Oilers 5-3-0 and free to be patient with Savoie’s development, the hope will surely be for him to eventually make his way to a scoring line on the big club. For now, though, he’ll continue his development in the AHL, a process that can now continue with his recovery from injury.