Cooper Marody cleared waivers and was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors

Nobody took a flyer on the 2021 AHL goal-scoring leader.

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Monday that Cooper Marody (along with Seth Griffth) cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Marody was among the team’s cuts on Sunday, along with Griffith and a trio of prospects, Philip Broberg, Filip Berglund, and Ilya Konovalov.

There was some thought that another team, perhaps one in the midst of a rebuild, would take a chance on Marody given his success at the minor league level. Last season, Marody led the AHL in goals with 21 and had 36 points in 39 games all told. He scored just 17 points in 30 games in 2019-20 due largely to injury, but his rookie season in 2018-19 before that was excellent, as he broke into pro hockey with 64 points in 58 games.

This is a nice win for the Condors as it means one of their top players will be around again this season. If Marody has another good showing with the Condors, he’ll likely be high on Edmonton’s list for a big league call-up in the event of an injury to somebody up front.

With Marody and Griffith through, there are a few more names still left in to watch when it comes to the waiver wire. Tyler Benson, Brendan Perlini, Devin Shore, and William Lagesson are all bubble players who would need to go through waivers in order to be assigned to the Condors.

Perlini has had an excellent showing in the pre-season and has more than likely earned a roster spot. The Oilers gave Shore a two-year contract this off-season so you’d think he has an inside route to a job. Benson is currently dealing with a groin issue and is battling with Colton Sceviour, who’s on a professional tryout, for a gig. Slater Koekkoek returning on a two-year deal might mean that Lagesson winds up on the outside looking in.

To be honest, waivers always seem like a bigger deal than they actually are. The Oilers lost third-string goalie Anton Forsberg last year to the Hurricanes on waivers but you have to go all the way back to 2011 to find their last drafted-and-developed prospect who was plucked by another team during the October roster shuffle. That was defenceman Taylor Chorney, who the Blues grabbed a few games into the 2011-12 season.

If Benson and/or Lagesson don’t crack the team, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll make it through. We’ll see soon.