Former Oiler's NHL career in jeopardy after unusual waivers situation

The Oilers signed Travis Dermott after a tryout contract last preseason, and played him in the NHL lineup until losing him on waivers to Minnesota on December 13th. The Oilers later claimed Dermott back on waivers, but there was an issue afterward.

According to PuckPedia, Travis Dermott currently remains a free agent. From the rest of the hockey world, there's been almost no noise about him joining another team even as a tryout candidate.

When the Oilers re-claimed Dermott on waivers from the Minnesota Wild on February 26th, things seemed to take a turn for the worse.

Oilers reporters revealed Dermott was dealing with a personal issue, and did not report to the Bakersfield Condors for nearly 2 months.

Dermott finally returned to play just three games for the Condors between April 16-19. His lack of availability for any reason would hurt his stock as a free agent.

The Oilers clearly saw potential in Dermott to warrant a contract after training camp and 10 games in the regular season, but it just didn't pan out. Now 28 years old, Dermott has played an impressive 348 career games as a depth defenceman, and was once a promising prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hopefully Dermott is in a better spot from the personal issues that prevented him from playing last season, and is able to find another avenue to the NHL. Being unsigned at this point in the offseason though often forces players into difficult decisions of retirement, or heading play overseas.