Owen Michaels has already done enough to earn another look from the Edmonton Oilers.
The ex-Western Michigan forward made his presence felt in Thursday’s win over the Vancouver Canucks, scoring one of Edmonton’s nine goals while adding two hits across 26 shifts and 13 minutes and 23 seconds of ice time. For a player who came into camp without a point in the four-game preseason, that kind of all-around night only strengthened the case he built in training camp.
Head coach Mike Babcock was high on Michaels throughout camp, and the coach’s trust showed in the way the rookie was used. Even without preseason production on the scoresheet, Michaels found ways to matter in different situations, enough to make himself a candidate for just about any role in the lineup. After Thursday’s game, Babcock kept the praise coming, saying Michaels has been "good for the team" after making the club straight out of camp.
The timing has helped, too. Edmonton is dealing with a string of absences that has opened a path for Michaels to stick around, at least early on. Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jason Dickinson, Mattias Janmark, and Matt Savoie are all out right now, and Josh Samanski has already been brought up to help cover one of those spots.
That leaves Michaels in position to stay in the lineup for, at the very least, the first half of October. Nugent-Hopkins’ injured reserve stint cannot end before next Thursday, since the NHL minimum is seven days.
Hyman is expected back by mid-October, while Dickinson and Janmark are less certain. Savoie, meanwhile, could miss the entire month.
None of that changes the fact that the injuries are a setback for Edmonton. But they also give Michaels a real opening to show he belongs for more than just a short stay.
The schedule could help him make that case. Two of the Oilers’ next four games come against an Anaheim Ducks team that is still searching for answers defensively and a Los Angeles Kings team that just surrendered eight goals to the Colorado Avalanche.
That does not promise a scoring run for Michaels. It does, however, give him a favorable stretch as he tries to turn a strong camp and a solid debut into something more lasting. His spot on opening night was not secured by points so much as by the way he played: the effort, the versatility, the willingness to do the dirty work.
That profile matters in Babcock’s system. If Michaels can add another point or two by the end of Edmonton’s third week, he could make it much harder for the Oilers to send him back to the Bakersfield Condors. He looks like the kind of forward who fits what Babcock wants - a skater, a worker, someone who can help at both ends and get himself to the front of the net.
It may be a narrow window, but Michaels has already shown enough to make the most of it.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Enter Connor Hellebuyck Talk With One Big Timing Question
Around the league, the Connor Hellebuyck chatter has started to settle into a familiar pattern: contenders wondering whether there is a real path to land one of the NHLs top goaltenders, and clubs with questions in net trying to see if the timing can ever line up. Elliotte Friedman reported that the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets briefly explored a trade involving Hellebuyck, while other teams such as the Oilers and Hurricanes have been floated as fits because of their goaltending situations and their desire to keep pushing toward a championship window.
What makes the discussion interesting is the standard Hellebuyck appears to be using. He is open to San Jose despite the uncertainty around that roster, but his bigger aim is to end up with a team he believes can win the Stanley Cup within the next three years. For Edmonton, that creates a clear but unresolved question: whether the organization can present the kind of immediate contender profile that would make a goalie of Hellebuycks stature view it as the right destination. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Suddenly Face Real Risk With Simon Edvinsson
With the NHL calendar still early, the trade market is already starting to take shape around a few clubs trying to solve very different problems. Detroits situation with Simon Edvinsson has become one of the more notable ones, as contract talks have reportedly run into trouble and the Red Wings are at least looking at trade possibilities if they cannot get the defenseman locked in.
For Edmonton, the ripple effect is less direct but still relevant. The Oilers are weighing ways to add forward depth, and that kind of search can quickly pull other teams into the discussion as front offices look for pieces that fit their needs. Around the league, there is plenty of movement and speculation already, from the Red Wings' uncertainty on the blue line to other clubs testing trade ideas, which is the kind of backdrop that can turn a quiet stretch into a much busier one. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Trade Focus Turns To One Roster Battle Up Front
As the Oilers sift through the early-season picture, the front offices attention has shifted toward a familiar roster question up front: whether to add another forward without paying too steep a price. Edmonton has been linked to the idea of moving a depth defenseman to address the forward group, a type of deal that usually only makes sense if the organization believes it can protect its blue line while improving its scoring depth.
The timing is part of what makes the discussion more interesting. Edmonton is still waiting on key reinforcements at forward, which should ease some of the pressure to act immediately, but the market chatter keeps circling back to which spare defensemen might be available in the right deal. Around the league, there has also been some loose speculation tying several trade requests to USA Olympic roster overlap, though the stronger read is that each situation stands on its own rather than forming some broader trend. [Read more 🡒]