After bouncing in and out of the lineup over the past couple weeks, the Oilers have assigned Jujhar Khaira to the Bakersfield Condors.

With the Oilers sporting a healthy roster it didn’t make much sense to have Khaira sitting around not playing. Although, I’m sure there’s value in having Khaira practice with the NHL club he’s not getting into any games which isn’t helping him much. Meanwhile, the Condors are in the midst of a playoff push and will surely benefit from Khaira’s ability to produce offence at the AHL level.

I think it’s fair to say that this demotion is more likely to do with wanting to help the Condors than it is specifically about Khaira’s play. That said, the trio of Anton Slepyshev, Iiro Pakarinen, and Matt Hendricks have been rotating in and out of the fourth line with Khaira being the odd man out. From where I blog, it makes sense to have Khaira playing meaningful games with the Condors rather than sitting in the pressbox for the Oilers.

The 22-year old is in his fourth full professional season and has made some nice strides in terms of his development. Originally drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft, Khaira has climbed the depth chart with his gritty style of play and ability to work the cycle down low.