2 Oilers expected to be healthy scratched, another expected to be placed on waivers

PUBLICATION

Finnegan Frost
October 29, 2024 (8:06)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Oilers have been looking far from a Stanley cup contenders, and the latest reports indicate that head coach Kris Knoblauch will be making some big decisions in the coming days.

According to Liam McCormick of Oilers Daily, According to a recent report from David Staples in the Edmonton Journal, the Oilers will soon be healthy scratching veterans Corey Perry and Derek Ryan to manage their workload through the season. The Oilers will have a great opportunity to do so for the first time next week.

»Corey Perry and Derek Ryan are playing a lot of games for older players. It might well be time to send down a d-man to the AHL and bring up a forward, so Edmonton can rotate in some fresh legs. That would mean sending out Travis Dermott, I expect.»
- David Staples, Edmonton Journal

Aside from looking extremely rusty to start the 2024-25 season, the Oilers are also one of the oldest teams in the NHL. Corey Perry has been an absolute warrior for the team so far, but at 39 years old, the team must consider load management at this point - the same goes concerning forward Derek Ryan. According to McCormick, the Oilers have a few candidates they could consider for a call up.

The two prime candidates to be first called up this season will be forwards Noah Philp and Drake Caggiula. Noah Philp had an incredible training camp that proved he's an NHL ready player, but after missing the entire season last year, the Oilers reportedly wanted Philp to get more ice time in the AHL first. Philp has been off to an incredible start in the AHL too, scoring 2 goals and 3 points
Liam McCormick, Oilers Daily

**UPDATE**

Now, the Oilers have made an official announcement regarding Caggiula and Philp, giving further indication that Travis Dermott will likely be waived in the coming days.

Of course that would mean sending down Travis Dermott to Bakersfield in order to make room for fresh legs. Although he showed much promise during his PTO, he's had an underwhelming start to the season so far. Would Travis Dermott clear waivers? I expect so.