Zach Hyman and the Nuge
By Phil Gretzky
The man in the picture, Devin Shore, has been loaned to Bakersfield on a conditioning stint as of Jan. 19. Per NHL policy, conditioning stints are only two weeks long, however, this may be more than just a quick “get back in game shape” stint for Shore as the Oilers are right up against the cap and have no cap space left for when Kailer Yamamoto comes back from injury, in which case they could put Shore on waivers and unless he gets claimed would then stay in Bakersfield until either his contract runs out at the end of this season or the Oilers bring him back up again (assuming he doesn’t get picked up after going through the waiver wire again).
Shore started out the season on the fourth line but with all the recent additions and the fact that the roster is overall healthier since he last suited up for the Oilers he hasn’t played in the entire 2023 calendar year.
If I had to guess I’d say that Shore’s contract won’t be renewed next season, but that’s just a guess at this point – maybe it’ll turn into a two-way contract rather than a one-way contract. But, with the emergence of Klim Kostin, Dylan Holloway, and James Hamblin proving to be a capable bubble players at minimum with more upside and being younger than Shore I wouldn’t bet on it. Even with a Bison King trade, there’s still a case to be made that Shore has been squeezed off the roster. He hasn’t even scored a goal all season when he at least scored five of them last season and was much more of a regular.
And then there’s Evander Kane, who is off the roster but instead of injury this time it’s for him to attend bankruptcy court in San Jose. He’ll basically spend the entire all-star break in court – what a lucky man.
The aforementioned Hamblin has been called up to take his place on the roster, although that’s bound to not be too long.
Ryan Murray has also been on the shelf for some time – with the improved play of Philip Broberg as well as the emergence of Vincent Deshairnais don’t expect Murray to get much more playing time even once he’s healthy, and don’t hold your breath on him coming back next season either. The guy is just as fragile as anticipated.