Oilers place Matt Benning on IR, recall Sam Gagner from AHL

According to the Edmonton Oilers’ Twitter account, the team has placed Matt Benning on the injured reserve and recalled the newly acquired Sam Gagner from the Toronto Marlies. 

After pulling the trigger on a trade that sent Ryan Spooner to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Sam Gagner, the team needed to create a roster spot for the newly acquired C/RW. With Matt Benning being banged up right now with an undisclosed injury, the easy move was to put him on the IR for the time being and figure out the rest later. While we don’t know how long Benning will be out for, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector also suggested that the team could also be sending Jesse Puljujarvi down to Bakersfield as early as tomorrow, which is likely what will happen to make space for Andrej Sekera.

Needless to say, Keith Gretzky is wasting no time in shedding contracts and reshaping the mess left to him by Peter Chiarelli. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Oilers aren’t done making moves, but I have to say that I’m impressed by what the interim GM has been able to accomplish so far. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the Oilers to find a taker for Ryan Spooner but they managed to do just that without having to retain any salary on the deal. While we don’t yet know what Sam Gagner’s role will be in his second stint with the team that drafted him, Gretzky mentioned today that he hopes for Samwise to be available for tonight’s game against the Islanders.

As Lowetide always says, we wait…