- Elliotte Friedman named a Bruins forward on Edmonton’s radar
- The Oilers have five forwards hurt three games into the season
- Read below for Friedman’s full comments and what Edmonton could send back
The Oilers have a name on their forward wish list.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts that Edmonton is looking at Bruins forward Michael Eyssimont. He brought it up while walking through the pile of injuries the Oilers are dealing with up front.
“They are looking for depth forwards,” Friedman said. “They’ve got a lot of banged-up guys. Savoie entered the season hurt, now you can add Hyman is hurt. Other guys have been hurt. So I know they are looking at someone like an Eyssimont. So, depending on the contract situation, we’d see how they felt.”
Boston put Eyssimont on waivers Sunday afternoon for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence, clearing room for Matthew Poitras to come off injured reserve.
Here’s the Bruins’ announcement:
Nobody put in a claim. Eyssimont cleared Monday afternoon and was assigned to Providence.
Friedman had wondered if teams were holding off until the 30-year-old got through waivers. He also explained what Edmonton would rather give up.
“I don’t know if Boston would be interested in one of the depth defensemen on the Edmonton roster,” he said. “But the Oilers would prefer to move one of their depth D’s.”
That lines up with what Friedman reported Saturday, when he said the Oilers had explored a “lateral trade” of a defenseman for a forward. Ty Emberson, Spencer Stastney and Shakir Mukhamadullin have been rotating through the last spot on the blue line, so the spare parts are there.
Edmonton needs the bodies. Zach Hyman is out about two weeks, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, Mattias Janmark and Matt Savoie are all sidelined too. The team is already operating in long-term injured reserve.
Eyssimont is a cheap, physical depth center with 74 points and 261 penalty minutes in 269 NHL games. Last season brought eight goals and 18 points in 56 games with the Bruins, and he’s in the second year of a deal carrying a $1.45 million cap hit.
He scored twice in a 5-1 preseason win over the Flyers on Sept. 22, but Boston kept him as its 13th forward and he didn’t dress for any of the first three regular-season games.
Sitting at 2-0-1, Edmonton isn’t panicking, and Friedman stressed none of the injured forwards are out long term. If Boston wants a depth defenseman back for Eyssimont, though, the pieces for a deal are already sitting on Edmonton’s roster.
