Oilers eye another big addition as Bob Stauffer hints at what's coming
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Bob Stauffer hints the Edmonton Oilers will add a big, physical forward. Edmonton is 11-2-2 under Mike Babcock but has very little cap space.
Bob Stauffer is dropping hints again, and this time they point to a bigger forward.
The Edmonton Oilers radio analyst and Oilers Now host suggested the team will add a forward with real size who can play a heavy, physical game around the net.
"Going to add a forward with size who can ground and pound.”
- Bob Stauffer
- Bob Stauffer
The timing makes sense. The Oilers are 11-2-2 under Mike Babcock and a perfect 7-0-0 on the road.
They have scored 64 goals and allowed 44, so this is not a team in panic mode.
It is a team looking to protect a good start.
Why size is back on the radar
Injuries have tested the forward group since opening night.
Isaac Howard, Zach Hyman and Matthew Savoie are all on injured reserve, and Mattias Janmark has missed time too.
Edmonton already picked up Filip Hållander from Pittsburgh in October for Spencer Stastney, but another big body would give Babcock a different look when games get tight and physical.
General manager Stan Bowman told Stauffer back in August that the next addition would most likely be a forward, though he was in no rush to make it.
The cap question
Money is the hard part. PuckPedia lists the Oilers with roughly $130,000 in projected cap space, so Bowman will have to get creative to fit anyone new into the lineup.
Any move will likely need salary going the other way.
Stauffer is well connected inside the organization, which is why his hints get attention.
No name has surfaced yet, so for now this stays a hint and not a done deal.
Oilers fans should keep an eye on the next few weeks as injured players return and the picture gets clearer.
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