Why the Edmonton Oilers made a roster move on Thursday afternoon.
Why the Edmonton Oilers made a roster move on Thursday afternoon.
EDMONTON -- It's almost break time.
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The Edmonton Oilers play their last game on Friday night before the 4 Nations Faceoff. They take on the Mikko Rantanen-less Colorado Avalanche.
After tonight, their next game won't be until Saturday, February 22nd, against the Philadelphia Flyers. That's too long of a break for one of their budding young forwards.
On Thursday afternoon, the team announced that forward Noah Philp was being sent to the Bakersfield Condors. Here are two reasons why this is good news for the promising forward.
Philp Could Use The Experience
At this stage of his career, Philp should play rather than sit.
There will be just over two weeks between games for the Oilers. The Condors play seven games in the same period.
Philp will log big minutes playing with the AHL team. This is better for his development than nearly every single other option. He is young, and playing in every situation will help him round out his game.
In the heat of the season, it's easy to forget that Philp didn't play any hockey last year.
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The Oilers Could Use The Money
The Oilers can resume their cap space accrual with Philp going down to the minors. When he was up with the team, they dipped into their LTIR pool.
According to PuckPedia, they have $568,694 in cap space after Philp's demotion.
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Their projected trade deadline cap space is set at $947,824 if the team doesn't make any more moves. However, let's also remember that they have their LTIR pool, which they can dip into at the deadline, giving them an additional $5,124,947 to work with. The Oilers can use over $6 million to bolster their team at the deadline.
Philp has been a great addition to the Oilers this season. However, because of the awkward break between games and the need to accrue more trade deadline cap space, the team felt sending him down right now made the most sense.
It's almost break time, but not for Philp.
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