The Edmonton Oilers announced on Friday that the club has sent rookie forward Isaac Howard to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The team also announced they have placed veteran defenceman Troy Stecher on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Condors as well.
The #Oilers have placed defenceman Troy Stecher on waivers & loaned forward Isaac Howard to the @Condors. https://t.co/8kzVajd7xi
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 14, 2025
The two moves come as the Oilers are set to activate top line winger Zach Hyman off of long term injured reserve. He is expected to make his season debut Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes according to comments from head coach Kris Knoblauch earlier this week.
There may be subsequent moves required as even with both Howard and Stecher off the books, the Oilers would be roughly $454,000 over the NHL salary cap with Hyman activated.
Howard, 21,was a highly touted rookie who was acquired by the Oilers over the summer from the Tampa Bay Lightning. So far this season, he has played 17 games with the Oilers, scoring two goals and one assist for three points. His slow start has caused some to speculate that he could be the odd man out when Hyman returns from injury and that is what this seems to indicate.
He is required to play at least one game with the Condors before he can be recalled due to the recent elimination of paper transactions in the memorandum of understanding signed between the NHL and NHLPA.
Stecher, 31 was reported to be garnering interest on the trade market but now is available for any team to grab with cap and roster space available. However, as what happened when the Oilers acquired goalie Connor Ingram, Stecher could still be traded should he clear waivers.
In some cases it is more valuable as the acquiring team can freely send Stecher up and down between the AHL and NHL for a period of time without him having to clear waivers.