Oilers insider hints team may place two veteran players on waivers

Stauffer reported today that 5 Oilers newcomers could make the opening night roster. Based on his report, there's 2 veteran players who would be the odd men out: Troy Stecher and Vasily Podkolzin.

The Oilers reportedly want to enter the upcoming season under the max roster size of 23 players to save cap space and give themselves flexibility.

Using their latest lineup formations and inferring from Stauffer's report, the Oilers could enter the season with a 21-man roster with over $1M in cap space with a lineup like this:

That involves the Oilers sending both Mattias Janmark and Troy Stecher down on waivers, two players who analysts have previously identified as a waiver risk.

Both players have been quality contributors for the Oilers in depth roles when called upon. Stecher earned playoff minutes over Ty Emberson last year, and Janmark has been a key penalty killer for years.

However, the Oilers have younger options with higher upside in both positions, and need to give that talent the opportunity to play.

The Oilers will wish for both players to clear waivers and act as great call-up options in case of injury, but it'd be likely one of the cheap veterans are claimed by another team. With the regular season opener less than 2 weeks away, we'll find out the Oilers decision soon.