Edmonton Oilers may pressure veteran forward into waiving no-move clause
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers RAW
The Edmonton Oilers have a troubling situation with veteran forward Adam Henrique, who appears to have fallen out of the lineup entirely.
Reports have surfaced earlier this offseason that the Oilers approached Henrique and Darnell Nurse to waive their no-trade clauses, and both players declined. However, the issue for Henrique may be that he might not even get ice time.
Oilers may end up pressuring Adam Henrique into accepting trade
After acquiring Ike Howard, Andrew Mangiapane, and a full season of Trent Frederic - Henrique appears to have fallen to the 4th line center position on the team's depth chart.
More importantly, the Oilers have multiple quality forwards who currently project to begin the season as a healthy scratch - someting the team won't want.
David Tomasek is a European free agent signing who plays center, and was clearly picked up for an NHL role. Curtis Lazar and Noah Philp are solid 4th line center options, and much cheaper than Henrique.
Even if Henrique stays on the roster, the Oilers may opt to scratch him to play Tomasek, Lazar, or Philp as the 4th line center. If Henrique starts to begin to see the press box, that could be pressure which leads to him waiving his no-move clause.
Oilers analyst Preston Hodgkinson predicted the team may make the difficult decision to ask Henrique to waive again.
All of McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Mattias Janmark, and Noah Philp are capable of playing, meaning at least one player is likely destined to be traded. Henrique makes the most sense to move as having $3 million 4C is not a luxury the Oilers can afford to have.
The veteran does have trade protection, which makes a move tricky, but Bowman will find a way to free up both a roster spot and some cap space ahead of the trade deadline.
- Preston Hodgkinson
The veteran does have trade protection, which makes a move tricky, but Bowman will find a way to free up both a roster spot and some cap space ahead of the trade deadline.
- Preston Hodgkinson
If the Oilers are able to move Henrique's salary later in the year too, it could open up much more trade options to improve the team elsewhere - especially in net.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 536 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers may pressure veteran forward into waiving no-move clause Do you think the Oilers should trade Adam Henrique? | ||
| Yes | 342 | 63.8 % |
| No | 194 | 36.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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