The Edmonton Oilers are entering training camp without four crucial individuals due to a combination of offseason ailments and procedures.
According to a statement released on Tuesday by the club, Mattias Janmark, Matthew Savoie, Alec Regula, and Frederik Andersen are not likely to take part in next month’s games.
Regula and Janmark are both healing from treatments. The announcement said that Andersen and Savoie are recovering from off-season injuries.
For a team that Mike Babcock will lead in his debut training camp with the Oilers, this is a difficult headline.
Savoie recorded five power play goals and five game-winning goals in addition to 37 points in 82 games last year. It hurts a young striker who is attempting to establish a larger position to lose him so soon.
Over that period, Regula played in 29 games on the blue line, recording three points and a minus-16 rating.
“NEWS: The Oilers have revealed that Frederik Andersen, Alec Regula, Matt Savoie, and Mattias Janmark are unlikely to take part in next month’s training camp.
Savoie and Andersen are undergoing physical therapy for injuries they sustained in the offseason, and Janmark and Regula are recuperating from operations.
News of four players’ injuries leaves Oilers in shock.
Andersen’s absence is the most significant. In 16 appearances this past season, he recorded three shutouts and a save percentage of.910, stats that are significant for a crease fight that is already congested by Tristan Jarry.
Meanwhile, Janmark scored eight points in 43 games, a depth role that is still crucial for a team looking for secondary scoring.
Babcock starts his stint evaluating a team that is missing real pieces from day one since none of these four are anticipated to return for camp.
Edmonton ended last season with 93 points and a plus-13 goal differential, with a record of 41-30-11. When a team is attempting to close the gap on the top of the conference, every player in the lineup is important.
Before a single practice, camp fights for bottom-six positions and crease depth decreased. For a new coach who is attempting to establish a tone, that is not the best moment.
Stan Bowman and his staff will require inside alternatives to advance in the meantime. Whether any of that depth is prepared for actual minutes is the question that the camp will truly address.
These kinds of wounds are seldom straightforward. Nobody has confirmed how lengthy each absence will be.
