WE WAIT

The Edmonton Oilers have a bunch of guys headed for injured reserve, two on waivers and one incoming from the Dallas organization. The result? Sunday night’s 22 healthy bodies may get some company tomorrow morning.

The Oilers plucked two enforcers off waivers this week, Steve MacIntyre early and then the unusually named Luke Gazdic on the weekend. GM Craig MacTavish talked all summer about adding a strong, physical element and the two waiver hires would certainly seem to be enough (some might suggest "overkill" with the possibility of Mike Brown and Ben Eager also being on the roster).

The club also waived two players thought to have made the team (Ryan Hamilton and Phil Larsen) and it’s certainly an open question whether one or both will be taken from waivers tomorrow. Larsen specifically impressed during the pre-season and many are surprised this evening at his status.

All of this upheaval leaves the Oilers roster situation a little hazy this evening.

With MacIntyre joining the Nuge, Sam Gagner and Corey Potter on the sidelines (and likely heading for the IR), the Oilers have a 22 man list tonight, and that’s one below the max:

MacT and Dallas Eakins clearly felt the club needed a physical element and with MacIntyre and Gazdic added to Eager and Brown that seems like enough. Possible areas of improvement include center (most teams carry 5) and defense (where Grebeshkov and Potter don’t appear to be ready).

We’ll see. The Oilers could enter the season with the 22 men listed above, but there’s certainly a need there in the middle and some interesting players available.

Today, Gazdic. Tomorrow? We wait.