Edmonton Oilers cut two more players with regular season looming
The Edmonton Oilers are making their final roster adjustments before the regular season gets underway.
After a perfect 4-0 preseason, the vibes are high in the Alberta capital ahead of Tuesday’s home opener against the Vancouver Canucks. The Mike Babcock era has gotten off to as good a start as fans could have hoped through training camp and preseason, but the real test will be if the Oilers can continue the success into the regular season.
Before they can do that, however, they have to set the opening night roster, which they got a little closer to doing after making two more cuts on Sunday morning.
The team announced that they had loaned 23-year-old defenceman Damien Carfagna to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, and had placed veteran goaltender Matt Tomkins on waivers for the purpose of assignment.
The #Oilers have loaned defenceman Damien Carfagna to the @Condors.
We have also placed goaltender Matt Tomkins on waivers for the purpose of assignment. pic.twitter.com/ERCbvm9y5u
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 27, 2026
Carfagna inked a deal with the Oilers out of the NCAA in 2025 and made his professional debut with the Condors last season, notching seven goals and 22 points in 66 AHL games. He had an impressive camp, which earned him a long look, but he was not able to break through a crowded Oilers blueline.
Tomkins never had much of a chance to break into the Oilers’ opening night lineup unless there was some sort of injury situation. Even with Frederik Andersen sidelined, Edmonton still has Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi as legitimate NHL options. The 32-year-old Tomkins will likely spend the majority of the upcoming season in Bakersfield, barring any injuries.
The Oilers aren’t quite done making moves ahead of opening night. With these cuts, and with Andersen, Matt Savoie, Alec Regula, Mattias Janmark, and now Jason Dickinson expected to start the season on the IR, Edmonton’s roster now sits at a total of 24 players, which is one over the NHL maximum of 23.
There has been a fierce battle between Josh Samanski and Owen Michaels for a spot on the Oilers’ roster, but Dickinson’s injury might persuade management to keep both to start the season. It would seem that Max Jones may be the most vulnerable player left on the roster who could be cut.
Edmonton could also choose to make a change on the backend with a logjam of eight players still remaining in that group. Though it wouldn’t be out of the question for the Oilers to start the season with eight defenders.
There isn’t a lot of time left, and we’ll surely get a definitive answer on what the Oilers’ opening night roster will look like over the next 48 hours.