Oilers blocked from making roster move after Kapanen injury, will play a man down

The Kapanen injury affects the Oilers in more ways than simply not being available to play, even if it's day-to-day.

With Draisaitl and Kapanen out of the lineup and Henrique on the LTIR, Edmonton's cap space is limited. As of this morning, they currently have $271K, while projected to be over the max this year by just under $2.5M.

Facilitating a trade-deadline deal has just gotten more complicated, something the Oilers are getting used to as the season unfolds.

Three goalie in the lineup is not sustainable. They will be forced to make the obvious next move of sending Pickard to the AHL in order to free up his $1M cap hit. At this point, every dollar counts.

Of course, Oilers will risk losing Pickard to waivers, but their options are limited, as are the roster moves they can make, of which demoting defenseman Alec Regula and removing his $875K from the team's salary cap, is one.

The recent addition of Spencer Stastney and Jake Walman to the d-corps allows them to send Regula down, though it could be a precarious option, if the Oilers decide to dress seven defensemen.

This will stretch the blueline thin, and since they can't call anyone up from Bakersfield, the move could backfire should another defenseman go down - they'll be forced to make roster moves Stan Bowman would prefer not to make, likely for a depth-defenseman.

Of course, Bowman could package Pickard and Regula in a dead-line deal and solve the problem that way. According to reports, there will be fewer sellers at this year's trade-deadline, given the parity in the standings and more teams chasing a playoff spot.

This will increase their value on the trade market.

Also read on Edmonton Hockey Daily :
Oilers reveal first update on Kasperi Kapanen after injury vs. St. Louis Blues