Edmonton Oilers place Slater Koekkoek on waivers

Among the players who were placed on waivers today is Edmonton Oilers defenceman Slater Koekkoek.

Koekkoek wasn’t at the team’s training camp this fall as he’s taking time away from hockey to focus on his mental health.

Assuming that Koekkoek clears waivers, he’ll be loaned to the Bakersfield Condors, where he’ll be able to collect his full salary without playing for the team. Given his cap hit is $925k for the 2022-23 season, Koekkoek won’t cost the Oilers anything against the salary cap.

Koekkoek inked a one-year deal, $850k with the Oilers in free agency ahead of the pandemic-shortened 2021 season. He appeared in just 18 games for the team as he missed the majority of the season due to a broken collarbone. After that, the Oilers re-signed Koekkoek to a two-year contract worth $925k annually. He split time between the Oilers and the Bakersfield Condors, playing 19 games at the NHL level and two games in the AHL.

Oilers general manager Ken Holland spoke ahead of training camp back in September and said that Koekkoek is on a leave of absence and that he’ll be away from the team indefinitely.