- The Edmonton Oilers will be without forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele for tonight’s opening night matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. It’s unclear what injuries either player is suffering from. However, because Edmonton began the season with just 21 players on its roster for cap compliance purposes, they will only be able to dress 17 skaters – all that are left on the roster after Yamamoto and Foegele. Sportsnet’s Bob Stauffer was the first to report.
Oilers Rumors
Edmonton Oilers To Send Down Philip Broberg, Recall Devin Shore
Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland said today, appearing on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, that the team will send defenseman Philip Broberg down to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors and recall forward Devin Shore.
It appears the Oilers need to make this move out of salary cap necessity. With Edmonton’s tricky situation, it could actually cause them to start the season short a player. The team has basically maxed out their LTIR relief coming from Oscar Klefbom, Mike Smith, and Tyler Benson, who combine for a $7.117MM cap hit, meaning they can’t recall an extra player to fill in. Forwards Warren Foegele and Kailer Yamamoto are day-to-day with injuries, and if neither of them can suit up tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks, the team would need to play with 11 forwards and six defensemen.
Why Broberg and Shore in this transaction? The Oilers had 21 skaters on the active roster, including Foegele and Yamamoto: 12 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies. With injuries threatening Edmonton’s forward health, the team opted to send down Broberg, who does not require waivers and was projected to be a healthy scratch for the season opener in favor of Ryan Murray, for Shore.
Shore carries a cap hit of $850,000 and cleared waivers earlier this week. Entering his third season with the Oilers, Shore had five goals, six assists, and 11 points in 49 games last year. He’ll draw into the lineup in the event that either one of Foegele or Yamamoto cannot play tomorrow.
Latest On Jason Demers
Jason Demers was released from his recent professional tryout with the Edmonton Oilers but he was back on the ice with them today. That led to speculation that he was going to sign a contract but that also may be a little premature. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that Demers is expected to stay with the organization on an AHL PTO for the time being – something that will allow him to keep training. Kevin Weekes of ESPN, meanwhile, notes that the situation is “fluid” and Demers may sign an AHL contract.
The 34-year-old Demers hasn’t played an NHL game since 2020-21 and spent last season playing internationally. Once a consistent two-way presence in the league, he has 699 career games under his belt and 214 points. Adding that kind of experience on an AHL contract would certainly help the Bakersfield Condors, while sort of providing the Oilers with extra depth.
Though he couldn’t be recalled, the team could choose to sign him to a deal down the road if they face injury issues. In fact, they did almost this exact thing with Brad Malone last year, keeping him on an AHL deal before converting it to an NHL contract in early February. It wouldn’t cost them anything to do it, though Demers would obviously have to agree to a minor league deal, somewhere he hasn’t spent much time in his career.
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Demers has played just a single game in the AHL – a match for the Tucson Roadrunners in 2018-19.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/10/22
A very happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers who are celebrating! Today marks the deadline for NHL clubs to become cap compliant and submit their opening night rosters. More specifically, the 5:00 pm ET deadline is now less than six hours away. With that in mind, we expect to see plenty of players sent to the minor leagues, returned to juniors, or released from their PTOs today, and we’ll keep track of them here.
Arizona Coyotes (via team tweet)
D Cam Dineen (to Tucson, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Tucson, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Tucson, AHL)
F Bokondji Imama (to Tucson, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team tweet)
D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Olivier Nadeau (to Gatineau, QMJHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (via team release)
F Jack Drury (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jordan Martinook (to Chicago, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via team tweet)
D Wyatt Aamodt (to Colorado, AHL)
F Mikhail Maltsev (to Colorado, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Emil Bemstrom (to Cleveland, AHL)
D David Jiricek (to Cleveland, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
D Jeremie Biakabutuka (released from ATO)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Jussi Olkinuora (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Givani Smith (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (via team tweet)
D Jason Demers (released from PTO)
F James Hamblin (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Devin Shore (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release)
G Pheonix Copley (to Ontario, AHL)
F Rasmus Kupari (to Ontario, AHL)
F Andre Lee (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via two team tweets)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (to Laval, AHL)
F Jesse Ylonen (to Laval, AHL)
D Justin Barron (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
D Arber Xhekaj (to Laval, AHL)
Nashville Predators (via team release)
F Jimmy Huntington (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Mark Jankowski (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Philip Tomasino (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Kevin Gravel (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Jordan Gross (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New York Rangers (via team release)
D Matt Bartkowski (released from PTO)
F Julien Gauthier (to Hartford, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team tweet)
F Ridly Greig (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (per Olivia Reiner, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
F Jackson Cates (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (via team tweet)
F John Hayden (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
D Michal Kempny (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
F Josh Leivo (to Springfield, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Springfield, AHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (via team tweet)
F Kyle Clifford (to Toronto, AHL)
F Adam Gaudette (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pontus Holmberg (to Toronto, AHL)
D Filip Kral (to Toronto, AHL)
D Victor Mete (to Toronto, AHL)
F Nick Robertson (to Toronto, AHL)
F Wayne Simmonds (to Toronto, AHL)
D William Villeneuve (to Toronto, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via team tweet)
F Linus Karlsson (to Abbotsford, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (via team release)
F Pavel Dorofeyev (to Henderson, AHL)
F Sakari Manninen (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jonas Rondbjerg (to Henderson, AHL)
D Jake Bischoff (to Henderson, AHL)
D Kaedan Korczak (to Henderson, AHL)
G Michael Hutchinson (to Henderson, AHL)
Washington Capitals (via team tweet)
F Henrik Borgstrom (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
Winnipeg Jets (via team tweet)
D Ville Heinola (to Manitoba, AHL)
This post will be kept updated throughout the day.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Klim Kostin
The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Klim Kostin from the St. Louis Blues in a one-for-one swap for defenseman Dmitri Samorukov, according to a team tweet. Both Kostin and Samorukov cleared waivers earlier this week.
Kostin, 23, has played just 46 NHL games since the Blues selected him with the final pick of the first round in 2017. 40 of those 46 games in 2021-22, where Kostin had four goals and five assists for nine points playing on a semi-full-time basis for the first time. Kostin also had just six points in 17 AHL games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season. He’s never had much sustained offensive success, even in the AHL, and five years after being drafted, an NHL future for Kostin is fading quickly.
It’s the opposite for Samorukov, however, who now may get an NHL opportunity right out of the gate with the Blues. With injuries to Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich dismantling the team’s left-shot defense depth, Samorukov comes in as a young player who can battle to capture a bottom-pairing role. It was rather surprising when Samorukov cleared waivers yesterday, considering how close he is to being NHL-ready. Selected 84th overall in the same 2017 draft, Samorukov made his NHL debut last season and emerged as a strong top-four defender with AHL Bakersfield.
Samorukov should immediately enter a battle with Niko Mikkola for NHL minutes right out of the gate. Given the team’s thin depth, it seems unlikely they’d opt to send Samorukov to Springfield for added conditioning. Add in the consideration that Samorukov wasn’t able to participate in training camp with the Blues and become adjusted to the team’s staff, and it makes sense that they would keep him around on the NHL roster for the time being.
For Kostin, the AHL does seem like the most likely option given the emergence of Dylan Holloway and Edmonton’s tight salary cap situation.
Waivers: 10/8/22
With Monday’s season-opening roster deadline quickly approaching, the activity on the waiver wire is likely to pick up as teams get closer to making their final cuts. We’ll keep track of today’s waiver placements here.
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
D Jeremy Davies
D Chase Priskie
Calgary Flames
D Dennis Gilbert
D Juuso Valimaki
F Radim Zohorna
Colorado Avalanche
Detroit Red Wings
F Austin Czarnik
D Steven Kampfer
F Matt Luff
Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs
F Joey Anderson
D Mac Hollowell
Seattle Kraken
G Joey Daccord
F Alexander True
Vancouver Canucks
F Sheldon Dries
D Christian Wolanin
With the exception of Winnipeg’s Johnathan Kovacevic (claimed by Montreal), all other players from Friday’s group passed through unclaimed.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/8/22
With the deadline for opening rosters just a couple of days away, many teams will be trimming down their rosters this weekend. We’ll keep track of today’s cuts here.
Buffalo Sabres (via team release)
F Sean Malone (to Rochester, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team release)
G Anton Khudobin (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team release)
G Sebastian Cossa (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (via team release)
F Brad Malone* (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Markus Niemelainen (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
D Mark Friedman (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL) (via separate team release; has cleared waivers)
G Filip Lindberg (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Samuel Poulin (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
F Martin Frk (to Springfield, AHL)
F Matthew Highmore (to Springfield, AHL)
F Klim Kostin (to Springfield, AHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release)
F Nick Abruzzese (to Toronto, AHL)
F Joey Anderson* (to Toronto, AHL)
F Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (to Toronto, AHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Toronto, AHL)
D Mac Hollowell* (to Toronto, AHL)
G Erik Kallgren (to Toronto, AHL)
D Mikko Kokkonen (to Toronto, AHL)
F Bobby McMann (to Toronto, AHL)
D Marshall Rifai (to Toronto, AHL)
F Alex Steeves (to Toronto, AHL)
*-pending waivers
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Waivers: 10/07/22
It’s an important day for waivers as the regular season approaches, and several potential targets are available. With the preseason wrapping up, teams will try to sneak players through at the last second and keep them in the organization for the time being.
Many of these placements are due to salary cap restrictions or LTIR machinations to give teams maximum flexibility as the season begins. Everyone from yesterday’s list cleared.
Here is today’s group of waiver additions:
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Mattias Janmark
Dmitri Samorukov
Minnesota Wild
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Kevin Connauton
Troy Grosenick
St. Louis Blues
Martin Frk
Klim Kostin
Matthew Highmore
Vancouver Canucks
Winnipeg Jets
Jake Virtanen Released From PTO
The Edmonton Oilers have released Jake Virtanen from his professional tryout contract, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
Now 26, Virtanen hasn’t played in the NHL since being put on leave by the Vancouver Canucks in 2021 after allegations of sexual assault were raised. He was eventually bought out by the team in the offseason and spent 2021-22 in the KHL, scoring nine goals and 16 points in 36 games.
After being found not guilty earlier this summer, Virtanen is attempting an NHL comeback, but he’ll have to do it somewhere other than Edmonton now that his PTO has been terminated. The sixth-overall pick from 2014 is a free agent again and it is unclear what kind of other opportunities await him in North America.
While a year away from the league certainly didn’t help things, Virtanen was already struggling to keep a spot in an NHL lineup. In 2020-21 he had just five goals in 38 games (zero assists) and has never been a consistent offensive threat.
His size and skating ability suggest he could be an effective player, but there have been too many games where his presence has been absent. To change that perception and keep his career afloat, he may have to work his way back up from the minor leagues, especially given how close it is to the regular season without a contract in hand.
Waivers: 10/06/22
Another day, another set of players on waivers as the regular season approaches. Everyone from yesterday cleared, while today’s group looks like this:
Boston Bruins
Vinni Lettieri
Joona Koppanen
Dan Renouf
Keith Kinkaid
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Calvin Pickard
Slater Koekkoek
Los Angeles Kings
New York Rangers