Anton Lander Assigned to Bakersfield; Jujhar Khaira Called Up
In a move that took place earlier this morning, the Oilers have sent down Anton Lander and in exchange have recalled Jujhar Khaira from Bakersfield.
Anton Lander had only just recently joined the team as of January 5th, and suited up with the club for all of 4 games before the news of today broke. Some had expected Lander to stick with the big club in order to provide some help to a Penalty Kill that at the time, could use a bit of assistance. However, if time on ice was any indicator, this move shouldn’t come as that surprising.
After failing to crack 10 minutes of ice time through his first 3 outings, Lander only managed a meager 3:24 of playing time last night, in addition to being -2. Lander should hopefully be able to recapture his AHL scoring touch and provide a lending hand to Puljujarvi as he looks to regain his confidence in the minors.
Jujhar Khaira will be in Edmonton on his third trip to the big league after spending 15 games with the Oilers last year, split between 2 different portions of the season. As a rookie, Khaira didn’t do too bad in his first outing, showcasing a very physical game that we know the head coach and the GM covet.
He managed to nab 2 assists in his time here, while averaging a little over 10 minutes per game. So far through this season with the Condors, Khaira has 8 goals and 10 assists in 24 games.
Khaira won’t have to be a major contributor offensively in order to stick with the big club, as long as he can make an impact physically, while avoiding costly mistakes.
I suspect we will see Khaira in the lineup tomorrow, as I am sure the bosses are curious to see how this player has grown from last season.
Laurent Brossoit Recalled; Jonas Gustavsson Assigned to Bakersfield
In a move that is much less surprising, Jonas Gustavsson has been assigned to Bakersfield after clearing waivers on Monday, while Laurent Brossoit has been called up to the Oilers.
After a dismal outing against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, many had speculated that Jonas Gustavsson may have worn an Oilers jersey for the last time. It is looking like that is very much the case. The demotion comes in the aftermath of 7 total games (5 starts) on the season for Gustavsson where he has only been able to manage 1 win, a .878 save percentage and a 3.10 GAA.
Even if Gustavsson does put together some better numbers in the AHL, it may be a stretch to imagine him being recalled before the possibility of a trade, for example.
Laurent Brossoit enters Edmonton while not exactly lighting the Earth on fire. So far with the Condors, he is showing a 9-8 record with a .908 save percentage and a .267 GAA, down considerably from his career AHL numbers.
Brossoit will have to be better than he was in his last stint with the big club which occurred last season in which he compiled a 0-4-1 record with a .873 save percentage and 3.61 GAA.
An interesting note can be seen below that takes a look at the split in Brossoit’s season so far. Perhaps some time with goalie coach Dustin Schwartz can help get him back to his earlier form.
Laurent Brossoit (20 GP):
– First 10 GP: 0.927 SV%
– Last 10 GP: 0.887 SC%
This is what Bakersfield's coach said on @OilersNow on Friday: pic.twitter.com/T8JD0p2r7T— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) January 9, 2017
One thing that can be expected? If through 1 or 2 starts Laurent Brossoit doesn’t work out, there will be little hesitation from Peter Chiarelli in finding a goalie who can help. In the race to the playoffs, having a solid support behind Talbot will be too important to ignore.
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