New Oilers Forward Pushes Out Bruising Defender

EDMONTON -- It's a good day for a game day.

Today, the Edmonton Oilers play the Minnesota Wild before a home crowd at Rogers Place. But first, some housekeeping.

Yesterday, the Oilers made a move that was let slip by the PuckPedia X account. That move was loaning Josh Brown to the AHL.

The bruising right-handed defender had played in two games for the Oilers. Against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, he logged 11:58 and 10:59 of ice time, respectively. He collected three hits, four shot blocks, and a fight.

Brown was called up the next day after Darnell Nurse went down with his injury. However, this gave them seven healthy defensemen.

Brown is in the first year of a three-year $1-million contract.

Why Was Josh Brown Sent Down?

So when Kasperi Kapanen was claimed off of waivers on Tuesday, the writing was on the wall for Brown. This move allows them to fit under the salary cap, which gives them more money once the trade deadline hits.

According to PuckPedia, with the Brown demotion, they have $303,596 in projected salary cap space remaining. Before they sent him back to the AHL, they had -$460,597 in space.

That means they were dipping into their LTIR pool for one day. However, the longer they can wait before dipping into that pool before the deadline, the more money they will have when that day comes.

The Bakersfield Condors play again on Friday.

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