- Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen are rehabbing injuries from off-season training
- Mattias Janmark and Alec Regula are still recovering from medical procedures
- Read below for the full Oilers statement and what it does to Edmonton’s goalie room
Edmonton is down four bodies before camp even opens.
The Oilers announced Wednesday that forwards Mattias Janmark and Matt Savoie, defenceman Alec Regula and goaltender Frederik Andersen are not expected to participate in training camp next month. Savoie and Andersen are rehabbing injuries suffered during off-season training sessions. Janmark and Regula are still working back from medical procedures.
No return dates came with any of it. The team said updates on each player’s availability will arrive “when appropriate,” which usually means nobody wants to put a number on it yet.
Andersen is the one that stings. Edmonton gave the 36-year-old a one-year deal worth $2.8 million on July 2, weeks after he carried Carolina to the Stanley Cup with a 13-2 record, a 1.89 goals-against average and three shutouts in 16 playoff games.
He was brought in to steady a crease that lost Stuart Skinner to Winnipeg over the summer. That leaves Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi as the healthy NHL options heading into September.
Savoie’s absence lands differently. The 22-year-old played all 82 games last season, put up 18 goals and 19 assists, and tied for the team lead with five game-winners while the Oilers were still holding off on extension talks.
Take a look at his first NHL hat trick, all three goals inside the opening period against Vancouver on April 16:
Janmark managed eight points in 43 games last season before surgery ended his year in March. Regula got into 29 games on the back end and finished with three assists.
Oilers radio host Bob Stauffer flagged the wrinkle that gets buried in a statement like this one. Savoie and Janmark both kill penalties, and Edmonton has the cap room to go looking for someone who does the same.
Mike Babcock’s first camp as Oilers head coach was already going to be picked apart line by line. He’ll open it without his new goalie, a 37-point winger, a penalty-killing centre and a depth defenceman.
