Injuries may be annoying, but Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman isn’t sounding the alarm.
Bowman said the offseason setbacks for forward Matt Savoie and goaltender Frederik Andersen are not the kind of problems that have the organization rattled. Speaking to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector from his Chicago-area home, he made it clear the Oilers expect to get through it without panic.
“It’s not great when guys are hurt,” Bowman told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector in an interview from his Chicago-area home. “But internally, we’re not nearly as concerned or nervous about it as the fans or the media.
“We’re not worried about this. This is part of the sport, and we’ll work our way through it. And there’s an opportunity, probably, for someone else to get a better look than they may otherwise would have.”
Even so, the timing isn’t ideal. Savoie was expected to stay on the top line with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman, while also taking on first-over-the-boards penalty-killing duties after a strong rookie season. Andersen, meanwhile, was rehabbing a knee injury suffered in the playoffs, though it remains unclear whether this new issue is tied to that one.
Bowman said the Oilers will be cautious with Andersen’s return.
“Matt’s going to miss less time than Freddie,” he said. Also, Freddie’s older. So we’re probably not going to be pushing the envelope, trying to probably give him enough time.
“I don’t want to put a timeline on it, but it’s not like he’s going to miss half a season or anything like that. It’s going to be much less than that.
Probably around the training camp, we’ll have a better timeline on things. He is going to miss some time, but it’s nothing that we’re concerned about.”
That still leaves Edmonton with a few moving parts heading into camp. If Savoie is out, the Oilers may have to reshuffle the top six, possibly pulling Ryan Nugent-Hopkins out of the third-line mix to skate with No. 97 and No.
- There’s also a chance for Isaac Howard or Josh Samanski to pick up more responsibility, with Samanski potentially seeing penalty-kill time.
Another route would be a professional tryout or a look at depth options from the Bakersfield Condors and recent free-agent additions.
Bowman pointed to a handful of players who could benefit from the extra openings.
“Howard’s in that group, where we expect them to be on the team. Then there are guys like Samanski and Quinn Hutson,” said Bowman. “Then you’ve got maybe unknown guys that are a little bit older, like Eduards Tralmaks and Aku Raty.
“Those guys are not young guys, but they’re accomplished American League players who were always going to get a look. Now, maybe they’ll get a different look.”
Tralmaks, 29, and Raty, 25, are two names worth watching. The source material notes that Tralmaks has a skill that could help him separate himself: even-strength scoring.
With Edmonton looking for more depth offense in recent years, that could matter. His size, listed at 6-foot-3 and 221 pounds, along with his forechecking ability, also gives him a path to make an impression.
On the goaltending side, Edmonton’s three-goalie setup is already in motion, and Bowman’s message is that the organization believes it can navigate the latest injury news without overreacting.
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