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Markus Niemelainen

Edmonton Oilers Reassign Markus Niemelainen

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The Edmonton Oilers have sent Markus Niemelainen to the minor leagues, clearing a roster spot for the imminent return of Evander Kane. Speaking with reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic today, Kane – who was a full participant at practice – explained that he is meeting with doctors later today.

Of course, the Oilers will have to make some other moves to activate Kane from long-term injured reserve. The team currently does not have the cap space to fit him back in, and will need to be rather creative to open it.

One easy way would be moving Kailer Yamamoto to LTIR, though that would require him to miss nearly a month. Yamamoto is still being evaluated, according to head coach Jay Woodcroft, after missing the last couple of games.

They could also just waive a player like Devin Shore, who also wasn’t at practice today. Ryan Murray, who hasn’t played since November, could also be shifted to LTIR depending on what other moves they make.

Either way, it’s the end of Niemelainen for a while, after he was essentially passed on the depth chart by Vincent Desharnais. The last two times Niemelainen appeared, he received just five and six shifts respectively. The 24-year-old defenseman will try to polish his game further in the minor leagues and wait for his next opportunity.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Markus Niemelainen

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The Edmonton Oilers have made a roster move, recalling defenseman Markus Niemelainen from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Niemelainen was sent to Bakersfield in late November, and now finds himself back on the Oilers’ roster after a 10-game stint in the AHL.

Niemelainen, 24, was a third-round pick of the Oilers at the 2016 draft, and has developed steadily since that point. The rangy six-foot-six Finn played two seasons in the OHL before making the jump to professional hockey in Liiga. Niemelainen crossed the Atlantic once again in 2020-21 to play for Bakersfield, and he made his NHL debut last season.

In 20 games last year Niemelainen had one assist, skating just over 13 minutes per night with over a minute on the penalty kill. So far this year, Niemelainen’s usage in 15 NHL games played has been light. He averages under ten minutes of ice time per night, and his time on the penalty kill has declined as well.

At the AHL level, though, Niemelainen’s overall role reflects what the Oilers are likely hoping he can develop into on their NHL squad. Niemelainen plays top-four minutes in Bakersfield with a heavy dosage of penalty-killing time, and that reflects the Oilers’ faith that he can potentially develop into a shutdown specialist at the NHL level.

Now back with the main roster, Niemelainen will hope to earn more ice time from coach Jay Woodcroft and continue his development at the game’s highest level.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Philip Broberg

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Though he has played in 15 games this season, Markus Niemelainen does not have the trust of the Edmonton Oilers coaching staff. The 24-year-old defenseman has logged more than ten minutes of ice time in just four of those games, and less than nine in each of his last five. Today, after two straight losses, the Oilers have made a change.

Philip Broberg, top prospect and AHL standout, has been recalled. Niemelainen has taken his place with the Bakersfield Condors, with neither one eligible for waivers.

Broberg, 21, was the eighth overall pick in 2019 and played 23 games with the Oilers last season, registering three points at the highest level. The rest of his North American professional career has been with Bakersfield, where he has 27 points in 38 games.

A brilliant skater, the left-shot defenseman hasn’t quite been able to show that he’s ready for the next step. His movement with the puck is excellent, but his consistency and defensive game still need work. Perhaps that development can come at the NHL level, though if he inherits Niemelainen’s role, he won’t be seeing the ice much.

The chance here for Broberg is that several other veteran defensemen have also been struggling for the Oilers. If he can show he’s ready for full-time NHL minutes, the opportunity is there for him. We’ll see how they deploy the group tomorrow when the Oilers finish up an eastern road trip against the New York Rangers.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Markus Niemelainen, Loan Brad Malone To AHL

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Earlier this evening, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they have recalled defenseman Markus Niemelainen from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and in turn, loaned forward Brad Malone to Bakersfield. This gives Edmonton an active roster with twelve forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies now, two less players than the 23-man limit.

The swapping of players did appear expected, with The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reporting that expectation yesterday. Operating with 21 of 23 skaters is a challenge for any team, but does allow the Oilers, who are currently using $7.103MM out of $7.117MM of available LTIR, to stay cap compliant. Having the extra player on the roster is of course some element of insurance, one that the Florida Panthers for example, are without, leading them to dress only 17 skaters this evening. To that point, having that 19th skater be a defenseman is key in the event another Oilers defenseman were to come down with injury. Should that happen, Niemelainen could seamlessly slide into the lineup. But, had it been Malone in that situation, the team would be forced to play a forward on defense, or go with an uncomfortable thirteen forwards and five defensemen lineup.

Malone has played in both of Edmonton’s games to date this season, failing to record a point. He played in just eight games for the Oilers last season, but had a solid 39 points in 52 games for Bakersfield. Should Malone once again become a regular member of their lineup, they should be able to count on strong production from their long-time forward.

Niemelainen, like Malone, has played in two games this season, though both with Bakersfield, recording an assist in the process. The hulking 6’6″ defenseman made his NHL debut the Oilers last season, tallying just one point in 20 games. With the call-up, the 24-year-old could get an opportunity to earn more NHL minutes and continue his development at this level.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Seven Players

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The Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs on Friday, and as a result, the Oilers became free to call up players without fear of their absences negatively impacting their affiliate team. Today, the Oilers announced that they have called up seven players from the Condors, a group that will form the team’s “Black Aces,” or players who practice, travel, and remain ready for their NHL teams but typically do not see game action. Those seven players are:

Perhaps the most significant name there is the goaltender, Skinner. In the unfortunate and unlikely circumstance that the Oilers’ starting goaltender, Mike Smith, gets injured or is otherwise unable to play, it’s possible that coach Jay Woodcroft could prefer to start Skinner over backup Mikko Koskinen, given their respective performances in the regular season. Koskinen played in 45 games this regular season and had a .903 save percentage and a 3.10 goals-against-average. Skinner, on the other hand, posted a .913 save percentage this year, albeit in only 13 games of work at the NHL level.

The Oilers are obviously hoping that they won’t have to make such a choice, but now with Skinner and some top prospects such as Broberg, Holloway, and Samorukov in the fold, they have some more options in case this version of the Battle of Alberta proves to be especially violent.

Edmonton Oilers Extend Markus Niemelainen

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The Edmonton Oilers have reached a two-year contract extension with Markus Niemelainen, one which will keep him signed and on an average annual value of just $762K. The first year of the extension, 2022-23, is a two-way contract, while 2023-24 will be a one-way deal.

Niemelainen, 23, has split this season between the Oilers and the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, providing some valuable size and depth whenever Edmonton is dealing with injuries. The 6’6″ defenseman is averaging just over 13 minutes in those NHL appearances–and even less in his most recent few–but has flashed a defensive ability that isn’t all that common among the rest of the team’s young options. He’s actually fourth on the team in hits despite playing in just a third of the games, and his length suggests he could have a substantial role on the penalty kill down the road.

This deal represents a bet from the Oilers that he can provide some more NHL minutes over the next couple of seasons and comes with basically no risk. The cap hit means he’s earning league-minimum in both years (and should actually be $762.5K for this reason) so even if he’s just an extra defenseman on the roster, it’s worth it. Notably though, Niemelainen still won’t be eligible for waivers next season, meaning he can continue to bounce up and down without worry of claim. That is of course unless he establishes himself as a regular at some point before 2023-24 and manages to get into 43 more games.

Either way, this is a little bit of work done for general manager Ken Holland and his staff ahead of the trade deadline, when things will get really interesting in Edmonton.

Snapshots: Niemelainen, Goloubef, Debunked Rumors

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The wallet of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Markus Niemelainen is a little lighter today. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Niemelainen has been fined $2043.75 for cross-checking, the maximum fine allowed under the terms of the CBA. The incident in question occurred during the Oilers’ match-up with the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Niemelainen cross-checked Jets forward and fellow Finn Kristian Vesalainen in the third period as he cut toward the net on a scoring chance. Despite what in retrospect was an obvious and vicious cross-check to Vesalainen’s face, no penalty was called on the play. Niemelainen is somewhat fortunate to have escaped with only a fine in this situation.

  • Following multiple PTO’s with the AHL’s Belleville Senators this season, including suiting up for 11 games, veteran defenseman Cody Goloubef finally has a contract – except it isn’t with Belleville nor with Ottawa. Instead, the 32-year-old has signed a contract with SC Bern of the Swiss National League for the remainder of the season. Goloubef undoubtedly had his sights set on a return to Ottawa, having played in 29 games with the club over the last three seasons, but for whatever reason that did not come to fruition. An alternate captain for Belleville last season, Goloubef clearly still has strong ties to the Senators organization but it is unknown if he was offered a contract with the AHL Sens and opted to go to Switzerland instead. Bern gains a two-way defender with 160 NHL games to his credit as they fight to earn a playoff berth.
  • The nearer to the trade deadline, the more rumors begin to emerge and, of course, not all rumors are grounded in truth. Two such whispers that were put to rest this weekend revolved around Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub and Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Hagel. While both the Sens and the Hawks are struggling again this season expect to be sellers at the deadline, they aren’t eager to move cost-controlled assets that are actually contributing on a regular basis. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports rather definitively that Zub will not be moved this season, which makes perfect sense. The 26-year-old is signed through next season at $2.5MM and while he will be an unrestricted free agent at that time, possibly making him a deadline target next season, the Senators don’t want to move on too quickly from a blue liner playing top pair minutes while also leading the team in plus/minus. In Chicago, the Blackhawks have even less reason to trade young winger Hagel, signed on for just $1.5MM AAV for two more years and still a restricted free agent after that. The 23-year-old is fourth on the team in scoring and second in goals, shooting percentage, and Corsi. While Chicago is understandably receiving interest in Hagel, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus reports that they have zero interest in moving him.

Zack Kassian, Duncan Keith Out Multiple Weeks

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5:38 pm: The team also announced that they’ve moved forward Kyle Turris to injured reserve. He’s only played four games since the beginning of January but has been a healthy scratch for most of the time. The nature of his injury is unknown. To fill his roster spot, the team recalled defenseman Philip Broberg from the AHL.

2:41 pm: The Edmonton Oilers will be without Zack Kassian and Duncan Keith for the next several weeks, general manager Ken Holland announced today. Kassian is dealing with a broken jaw that will keep him out four to six weeks, while Keith is in concussion protocol, has upper-body soreness and could miss two to four weeks. The Oilers will recall Markus Niemelainen from Bakersfield to fill one of the roster spots.

Kassian, 31, left last night’s game after playing just 4:52 of ice time, though that wasn’t all that far off from what he had been receiving of late anyway. The veteran forward has just five goals and 14 points through 35 games and will now end up missing at least a month with this latest injury. In the second season of a four-year, $12.8MM contract signed in 2020, Kassian is actually the fifth-highest paid forward on the Oilers. That salary won’t result in much offense this season given this latest absence, especially if he falls closer to the six-week timeline and misses a good chunk of March.

Keith meanwhile might be a bigger loss, even though the 38-year-old is a shadow of the player that helped lead the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships. The Oilers simply don’t have the defensive depth to lose a top-four option long-term, unless a younger player is able to take a step forward and take on a good chunk of responsibility.

Perhaps that will happen with new interim head coach Jay Woodcroft taking over and defensive coach Dave Manson coming along with him. Niemelainen will obviously be very familiar with both from their time in Bakersfield, though the 23-year-old has just seven games of experience at the NHL level.

Oilers Place Duncan Keith In COVID Protocol

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It turns out that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t the only notable Oilers player to enter COVID protocol today as the team announced that defenseman Duncan Keith has also been placed there.  That triggered a series of moves with Kris Russell being transferred to LTIR retroactive to December 9th, Markus Niemelainen was moved to injured reserve, and Cooper Marody and Seth Griffith were recalled from Bakersfield of the AHL.

Keith is in his first season with Edmonton and it has been a relatively quiet one.  He had just come back from an upper-body injury that caused him to miss seven games and he has been fairly quiet offensively with just five points in 20 games although he is still logging a little over 20 minutes a night in a top-four role.

Between his placement in protocol and Niemelainen (who has averaged 14 minutes a game in his first seven NHL contests) moving to IR, they’re down to just five defensemen on the active roster which makes it a bit puzzling that two forwards were brought up.  However, both Griffith and Marody have been productive with the Condors this season as they sit first and second respectively in team scoring.  Edmonton has had secondary scoring issues pretty much all season long and it appears those two will get a chance to try to contribute.

To make that happen from a cap perspective, Russell had to be shifted to LTIR, giving Edmonton the cap space to afford to bring two players up from the minors instead of just one.  He had been listed as questionable to play in Tuesday’s game but now will miss 10 games and 24 days, pushing his return into January at the earliest.  Given that designation from earlier this week though, he could be ready to return as soon as that time is up.

Oilers Cancel Practice, Add Ceci To COVID Protocol

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The Edmonton Oilers have canceled today’s practice for precautionary reasons after Cody Ceci was placed in the COVID protocol. The team is currently scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night. Interestingly, Duncan Keith has also been moved to injured reserve, despite making an appearance on the ice yesterday. The team has recalled Markus Niemelainen in the meantime.

Ceci, 27, has been a huge part of the Oilers team this season, averaging more than 20 minutes a night through the first 20 games. In fact, those numbers have increased dramatically since Keith and Darnell Nurse went out, with Ceci averaging over 23 minutes in his last five. Some may suggest that he’s done well in those minutes, given the team has won four of those five, but Ceci is one of the few players on the Oilers roster who has been outscored at even-strength.

In fact, he’s been on the ice for more goals against (18) than anyone else on Edmonton’s roster this season. While some of that has to do with Ceci’s heavy usage and defensive zone deployment, he’s still not putting up very impressive analytical numbers. Even so, Edmonton can’t afford to lose him for ten days, which is what he’ll miss at a minimum if he’s tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing any symptoms. Already the team was using a 20-year-old Philip Broberg in key minutes and now may see Niemelainen make his NHL debut.

The 23-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick of the Oilers back in 2016, but is in just his second season in North America. In 2020-21 he came over to the Bakersfield Condors and showed why he was a reliable option in Finland, using his 6’5″ frame to effectively end rushes. In 21 games he also added six points, nearly reaching his career-high from Liiga in far fewer games. This season he has three points in 14 games, but at least appears ready to add some defensive ability to the NHL squad, should they need it right away.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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