Edmonton Oilers recall Jason Demers so he can play in his 700th NHL game

The Edmonton Oilers made a roster move Thursday to recall defenceman Jason Demers so he can play in his 700th NHL game. The club placed Ryan McLeod on LTIR to facilitate the move.

Demers, 34, joined the Oilers on a professional tryout ahead of the season but didn’t make the team out of camp. Instead, he joined the AHL’s Condors at the start of the year playing some games on a tryout down there.

The Oilers rewarded him with a one-year, $750,000 contract in December. Demers has been looked to as a veteran leading the way on a young Condors backend. He’s appeared in 55 games this season scoring no goals, but has chipped in a solid 18 assists.

Sitting at 699 career NHL games, it’s all class from the Oilers to give him a chance to play game 700.

McLeod, meanwhile, has been out of the Oilers’ lineup since March 14th after he was injured in a game against the Ottawa Senators. Prior to his injury he already set a career-high in goals with 12 and points with 22. His 11 assists sit one back of his previous career high. He’s drawn in for 55 games so far this season and missed some time earlier in the season due to injury as well.

This past off-season, he signed a one-year deal paying him $798,000 and is an RFA with arbitration rights this upcoming offseason.