For the last week or so, we’ve all been wondering how the Edmonton Oilers were going to clear the necessary cap space to activate Kailer Yamamoto from the LTIR and this morning we got our answer. Via their social media channels, the team announced that they have activated Yamamoto by loaning both Dylan Holloway and Vincent Desharnais to the Bakersfield Condors.

Over the last few weeks or so, there has been plenty of speculation about how the Oilers were going to clear the cap space needed to get Kailer Yamamoto back in the lineup. Would they make a trade? Would they run a short roster? For the most part, a lot of us expected the team to either trade or waive Jesse Puljujarvi, but as it turns out, the Bison King sticks for another day as the club has opted to loan Dylan Holloway and Vinny Desharnais back to the Condors. While I absolutely think this is a temporary move with both players returning in short order, running this route lets us know with certainty that Ken Holland doesn’t have an acceptable trade lined up nor does he want to risk losing one of his assets for nothing.

With Kailer Yamamoto’s return, the Oilers will have a little bit more depth and a few more line combo options as he certainly bolsters what we’ve been running with on the right side. That said, Yamamoto isn’t having the year that any of us hoped he would, and while I absolutely understand that part of that is a result of the injuries he’s suffered, the Oilers need him to find another gear for this playoff push. As much as we appreciate his tenacity on the puck and willingness to pay the price to make a play, the reality is that Yamo is another guy that’s underperformed in 2022-23, and given his $3.1 million price tag, we’ll need a whole lot more from him over the final 27 games.

In 31 games played so far this season, Yamamoto has registered four goals and eight assists for 12 points to go along with 10 PIMs and a +7 rating while averaging 16:42 in TOI.

With both Dylan Holloway and Vinny Desharnais available for demotion to the Condors without the risk of losing them, it makes short-term sense to have both guys head down to the farm and play some bigger minutes. Clearly, Ken Holland and his staff need more time to make a bigger move such as a Puljujarvi trade, and I also don’t think it’s a bad thing to give either guy more minutes and responsibility down on the farm. Frankly, I think this quick stop in Bakersfield could give these guys a little boost of confidence that we’ll need down the stretch.

In this morning’s game notes ahead of round two against the Rangers, Jason Gregor looked at this Holloway move as a positive, noting that the rookie hasn’t played a whole lot in recent weeks:

When it comes to fan-favourite, Vincent Desharnais, I really can’t imagine it will be long before we see the big man back with the Oilers as his steady defending, willingness to get greasy, and penalty killing prowess will surely be missed. Even though we’re talking about a guy that averages only 12:09 in TOI on the back end, there’s little doubt that he’s made an impact in the 12 games he’s played with the Oilers, and I would bet all of Gregor’s money that he’ll use this “demotion” as fuel to get right back to the bigs in short order.

In 51 games played, Dylan Holloway has registered three goals and six assists for nine points to go along with a 52.0 CF%, 27 PIMs, and 44 shots while averaging 9:35 in TOI.

In 12 games played so far, Vinny Desharnais has registered four assists to go along with 17 PIMS, a 52.6 CF%, and a +9 rating.