Yamamoto, Spooner to AHL Bakersfield

It’s been a whirlwind of a day and it isn’t even noon yet. In the wake of Peter Chiarelli’s firing, everything else has been pushed out of the limelight. With the team set to have the next week-and-a-half off, the Oilers have sent Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Spooner to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.

Yamamoto, being on his entry-level deal, can slide up and down from the NHL to the AHL at any time, so there’s no surprise he’s getting an opportunity to play while the team goes on its break. Yamamoto has had a rough month, getting injured in his first game after being recalled back in December. He hasn’t played much in the past few weeks and badly needs some reps.

Since Spooner cleared waivers, he can come up and down so long as he doesn’t remain at the NHL level for 10 games or 30 days. There’s no doubt Spooner’s time in Edmonton has been a disaster but this will give him a chance to find some confidence against lesser competition. There’s no word yet on Ty Rattie, who, like Spooner, remained with the club the day after clearing waivers. He’s in the same boat as Spooner and can come up and down so long as he doesn’t play 10 games in the NHL or remain on the roster for 30 days.

Then there’s Jesse Puljujarvi. The way the Oilers have handled the fourth-overall pick from the 2016 draft has been nothing short of bewildering. They rushed him to North America and have failed to give him an extended look at the AHL level all while feeding him little ice time at the NHL level. It would make a lot of sense to send him to the AHL during the break, and perhaps beyond the break, but this is the Oilers, little they do makes sense.