October 8, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers announced that they placed Raphael Lavoie, Lane Pederson, and Ben Gleason on waivers for the purpose of being sent to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL on Sunday. This is the roster that will be submitted the to the NHL on Monday:

Kane ($5.125M) McDavid ($12.5M) Hyman ($5.5M)

Nuge ($5.125M) Draisaitl ($8.5M) Brown ($775k)

Holloway (925k) McLeod ($2.1M) Foegele ($2.75M)

Janmark ($1M) Ryan ($900k)

Nurse ($9.25M) Bouchard ($3.9M)

Ekholm ($6M) Broberg ($863,334)

Kulak ($2.75M) Ceci ($3.25M)

Niemelainen ($762,500) Desharnais ($762,500)

Campbell ($5M)

Skinner ($2.6M)

Total Player Hit: $80,338,334

Buyouts: Neal ($1,916,667)

Overage: $850,000

Total Cap Hit: $83,105,001

Cap Space: $394,999

Active Roster: 21

We spent so much time debating who the twelfth forward would be, and the team only kept eleven forwards! There’s a likely reason for that. The statuses of Mattias Ekholm and Brett Kulak for opening night remain unclear. Ekholm didn’t play in any preseason games due to a hip flexor issue. The injury didn’t seem serious, but it continues to linger. The team is handling the situation with the utmost caution. Meanwhile, Kulak hasn’t skated with the team in about a week. Once again, it doesn’t seem like a serious injury, but it could be worse than the team initially thought.

If one or both of Ekholm and Kulak were to miss Wednesday’s opener in Vancouver, then Niemelainen would draw in to round out the lineup. If one defenceman is out, then the team will be comfortable dressing eleven forwards and seven defencemen. If both are out, they will have to play a man short unless they use an emergency recall.

This development means that Niemelainen is the organizational number eight defenceman, which would make him the first defence call up. Ben Gleason had a tremendous camp. His goal share at five-on-five was a whopping 8-1 in six games, and the only metric on Natural Stat Trick that he was below 50% in was his 49.12% Corsi for percentage. Gleason played a reliable game and showed poise with the puck. Many people thought that Gleason had passed Niemelainen on the organizational depth chart at the very least, if not that he had earned a place in the top six over Philip Broberg and Vincent Desharnais. Alas, that’s not how the organization sees it. It’s a disappointing result for Gleason.

Related: Deep Dive: Twelfth Forward Battle

Sunday’s decisions are not necessarily final. We have to remember that the roster submitted on Monday is subject to change, even as early as Tuesday. Once Ekholm and Kulak return to full health, Niemelainen will be waived and sent to Bakersfield. One of them will be recalled at that time, unless the team decides to sign Adam Erne instead. Erne had the worst camp of the three, but he’s the most experienced of the three and the only one that kills penalties. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised if GM Ken Holland goes that route.

We don’t know who the team would have decided to keep if injury didn’t make keeping an eighth defenceman a necessity. It would be a shame to lose Lavoie because of a couple of minor injuries to defencemen. The 2019 2nd round pick scored 25 goals in 61 AHL games last season, and certainly didn’t look out of place in camp. Lavoie is a big body with a laser beam of a shot. Losing a right winger with that shot and finishing ability would be a tough pill to swallow. It’s questionable asset management to risk losing Lavoie at this point given what he’s shown.

Having said that, the organization has other right wing prospects. Xavier Bourgault and Ty Tullio will be playing in Bakersfield this season. Bourgault got two goals in his first preseason game in Bakersfield, and he got two goals in his last preseason game with the Oilers. The 2021 first rounder could be in line for a big year. The Oilers also have Matvei Petrov and Maxim Berezkin, who are right-handed scoring wingers that play the left side. Losing Lavoie would hurt, but there are other righties in the pipeline.

Pederson should also be commended for a strong camp. He had excellent metrics at five-on-five, and he played low event hockey. He scored a nice breakaway goal against the Calgary Flames, and made several smart plays with the puck throughout camp.

Should both Lavoie and Pederson clear, they will be able to move up and down between Bakersfield and Edmonton without waivers for thirty days. The tryout could extend into the regular season for both players. I could see both players getting into some NHL games in the first month of the season.

Related: Two Players Nose Ahead at Oilers Camp

It would be a shame for the Oilers to lose any of the three players that they waived on Sunday. The team had to make some difficult decisions. As unfortunate as that is, it’s a symptom of a strong team. The Oilers are in a place where multiple deserving candidates are being squeezed out because there’s simply no room for them. Part of that is cap management, but the Oilers are far from the only team to be suffering from the flat cap. Regardless, the Oilers are in a great spot as an organization.

Training camp is over. Expectations rightfully are high for the Oilers, and the excitement about the team is palpable. It’s time to get the chase for the Stanley Cup started.