Stunning rash of early injuries not causing Oilers GM Bowman to panic

EDMONTON — Among the many personality traits necessary to retain one’s sanity as a National Hockey League general manager, a high panic threshold ranks right up there.

In Canada, a wise GM leaves that to the fan base. And here in Edmonton, that fan base is emoting over the Oilers’ Wednesday news release that four players — Frederik Andersen, Matt Savoie, Mattias Janmark and fringe defenceman Alec Regula — will all miss training camp with various undisclosed injuries.

“No, it's not great when guys are hurt,” allowed Oilers GM Stan Bowman, speaking over the phone Thursday from his home in the Chicago area. “But internally, we're not nearly as concerned or nervous about it as the fans or the media.

“We're not worried about this,” he repeated. “This is part of the sport, and we'll work our way through it. And there's an opportunity, probably, for someone else to get a better look than they may otherwise would have.”

First off, how bad are the (undisclosed) injuries to Andersen and Savoie?

“Matt's going to miss less time than Freddie. Also, Freddie's older. So we're probably not going to be pushing the envelope, trying to probably give him enough time,” Bowman said. “Matt, I don't want to put a timeline on it, but it's not like he's going to miss half a season or anything like that. It's going to be much less than that. Probably around the training camp, we’ll have a better timeline on things.

“He is going to miss some time, but it's nothing that we're concerned about.”

In a key season with a new coaching staff, the Oilers will open the season without their top line left winger in Savoie and their prized free agent signing in goal. Also missing will be Janmark, a plug-and-play veteran who kills penalties and fills a role not everyone wants to fill.

It’s fair to debate how much hockey is left in a career grinder who has the ultimate respect of his teammates through four teams and 680 games. When a 33-year-old has surgery late in a season, but still can’t play the next, well, history tells us the end may be near for this game Swede.

“He's been playing through a lot of pain. Honestly, he knows he played too long with it last year, waiting to see if he could stick it out,” Bowman said. “He's dealing with a lot, and he's not ready to start the season. It is what it is.”

Does this open the door for a PTO (professional tryout) or perhaps a deal like the one Bowman signed Jack Roslovic to roughly a year ago?

We’d say that an unsigned free agent left winger might view Edmonton more favourable today than two weeks ago, as might a Curtis Lazar-type, with Janmark out of the picture.

Bowman will keep his eyes open in that market, and with ample cap space, he’ll also take calls as camps progress across the league, and perhaps a younger player pushes an older one out of a job.

But they’ll start the replacement process internally, where players like Ike Howard and Josh Samanski smell opportunity.

“Howard's in that group, where we expect them to be on the team. Then there are guys like Samanski and Quinn Hutson (63 AHL points in 67 games last season). Then you've got maybe unknown guys that are a little bit older, like Eduards Tralmaks (29) and Aku Raty (25),” Bowman said. “Those guys are not young guys, but they're accomplished American League players who were always going to get a look. Now, maybe they'll get a different look.”

On a team that has hired more than its fair share of head coaches over the years, but has a core of players that’s been together for years now, 2026 training camp will have some freshness in Edmonton.

The last, disappointing season is behind them. For the first time in a few years, they’ve had a long, healing summer.

And in comes head coach Mike Babcock, whose reputation precedes him.

“Essentially, it's sort of like starting a new program here,” Bowman said. “Babs is bringing a much different look, D.J. (assistant coach Smith) as well. We got some new players coming in. We've got some players that are hungry, whether it's redemption or to prove that they're better players than they showed, and they have a new coach to come in.

“There's reason for excitement because it's like they're coming in with a new guy who doesn't have a bad opinion of them. Doesn't have an opinion at all. It's like they really do get a fresh start.”

Being healthy wouldn’t hurt. But when you’re Stan Bowman, it’s no time to panic.