Edmonton Oilers Expected To Place Roster Player on Waivers Imminently

PuckPedia says that the Oilers would accrue a significant amount of cap space by waiving a player making 775K before Tuesday: prime candidates would be Derek Ryan and Travis Dermott.

The Oilers are dealing with significant injuries to Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson right now, so if they do waive a player right now, it will only be a temporary move before someone gets recalled for Friday's game against the Utah Hockey Club.

That means the Oilers would have to take a real risk of losing a roster player just to gain a few days of salary cap savings.

The Oilers have made a pattern out of these roster moves this season, so it seems possible that they would take the risk.

Derek Ryan could be waived and it's very likely he wouldn't be claimed at 37 years old, but then the Oilers would only have 10 healthy forwards in the roster.

Edmonton is currently carrying 7 defenceman on the roster, making Travis Dermott easier to waive, but it's more likely that another team would claim him as a league minimum defenceman with over 300 career games.

If Dermott gets claimed on waivers, the next Oilers depth defenceman up would be the veteran Josh Brown, signed this offseason to a three year contract.

Brown makes $250K more than Dermott, which over the long run of the season, amounts to a significant daily cap hit the Oilers are trying to avoid.

If Dermott was waived and claimed, it may make more sense for the Oilers to only carry 6 defence on the NHL roster, creating space for a call up for Noah Philp.

We'll see what the Edmonton Oilers decide to do, and how risky they're willing to get to create cap space this season, by tomorrow afternoon.