- Ryan Rishaug says Frederik Andersen and Matt Savoie should be available around late October
- That puts Edmonton’s new goalie on the shelf for roughly the first 10 games
- Read below for what it does to the Oilers crease and when Andersen could finally debut
Edmonton finally has a number on Frederik Andersen’s injury, and it is not a good one.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported Wednesday night that Andersen and forward Matt Savoie are both tracking toward late October. That is the first return window anybody has attached to either player.
Rishaug offered it hours after the Oilers announced that four players would miss training camp without giving a single date:
A late-October return costs Andersen the first month of the season. Edmonton opens Sept. 29 at home against Vancouver and plays nine games before Carolina comes to Rogers Place on Oct. 22, so his Oilers debut could land right around the visit from the team he just won a Cup with.
Andersen signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal on July 2. He had just gone 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts in 16 playoff games for the Hurricanes. He turns 37 on Oct. 2.
Here’s the run that got him the contract:
The crease falls to Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi in the meantime. Jarry went 9-6-2 in 19 games after arriving in Edmonton last season with a 3.86 goals-against average and a .858 save percentage. Levi was 2-7 with a 4.12 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage in nine appearances.
Those two are the tandem Edmonton looks set to open with:
Savoie’s absence hits the other end of the roster. The 22-year-old played all 82 games last season, scored 18 goals, added 19 assists and tied for the team lead with five game-winners.
Mike Babcock will open his first season as Oilers head coach with Tristan Jarry in the net. Edmonton signed Andersen in July to avoid exactly this start.
