Oilers make another roster move to add former Hurricanes defenceman

This roster move was expected by Oilers insiders as the team moved Jake Walman to LTIR. The move wasn't retroactive, so Walman will have to miss at least 24 days or 10 regular season games - which necessitates a backup for the blueline.

The Oilers formally announced the roster move for Stillman this morning, just after the trade for Tristan Jarry.

Stillman is a 27-year old Ontario native who's played 163 career NHL games for the Panthers, Blackhawks, Canucks, Sabres, and most recently the Hurricanes.

The Oilers signed Stillman in the offseason for a 2-year contract at $775K per season. For a depth defenceman, it's a very affordable contract, and nice to have the term.

GM Stan Bowman clearly sees something in Stillman to acquire him twice in his career, once with the Hawks and again with the Oilers. It's possible he's given a longer look, or is a repeat call-up candidate for injury depth on the blue line. It's interesting that it wasn't Josh Brown called up instead.

Stillman may not even get into the lineup though, as the Oilers also acquired Spencer Stastney this morning - also a 3rd pairing left shot defender.

Now with a total of Bouchard, Ekholm, Nurse, Walman, Emberson, Regula, Stastney, and Stillman - the Oilers have found themselves with 8 defenceman on the roster again. Perhaps another trade is coming.

We'll see how the new Oilers lineup looks before tomorrow night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.