The Edmonton Oilers losing Noah Philp to waivers Monday has led to the typical overreaction from fans that comes with parting ways with a player for nothing. When a player is claimed, there is no return beyond the space freed up if the player is now off the books. In Philp’s case, that’s a manageable $775,000, which makes the sting a little clearer. That said, is the frustration among fans justified?
Maybe not.
Philp, a 27-year-old 6-foot-4, 198-pound right-shot forward, was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes after appearing in 15 games for the Oilers this season. He finished with two goals and three points, bringing his NHL total to 30 games in two seasons. There may be something to it, but at 27 years old the jury is still very much out on what kind of player Philp could become in the NHL, assuming he even becomes one.
To date, his best production has been in the AHL, where he has scored 72 points in 130 games. His NHL resume certainly isn’t something to get too worked up about.
Context is important here.
Philp is older than several forwards currently in the Oilers system, including Vasily Podkolzin, Josh Samanski, Ike Howard, Quinn Hutson, Matt Savoie and others, many of whom are closer to regular NHL duty or are already playing in the NHL. And while Philp was one of those unicorns in the sense that he was a right-sided player with stature, he was also rarely trusted with more than ten minutes per game and had not taken on any special roles. He was seen as a potential penalty killer, but was actually already put in the box to kill a bench minor this season. That’s what the coach thought of his PK capabilities.
Undoubtedly, Philp has untapped potential. But at 27, it’s hard to imagine there was much more time to give him time before results were expected.
There are more teams that passed on Philp than those that didn’t
The bigger picture also undermines the outrage. As Jason Gregor featured on Sports 1440almost every NHL team passed on Philp. Only one club (and possibly three others) had to say yes, and Carolina was the one to do so. This does not automatically mean that there is disastrous asset management.
Gregor goes on to point out that this is NHL business, and the Oilers have seen their share of waiver profits. Remote claims work both ways: Edmonton has benefited from them before and lost players in the same way. That’s the business. Troy Stecher went out, but Kasperi Kapanen and Alec Regula are waiver picks for Edmonton.
Could Philp still develop into an NHL regular? Possibly. He skates well, has size and may get a better opportunity in Carolina’s system. But that outcome is far from guaranteed. Losing him doesn’t change the franchise, nor does it dramatically alter Edmonton’s trajectory.
In any case, the biggest concern isn’t the loss of Philp; it’s the Oilers’ continued tendency to favor older veterans over younger, cheaper options with benefits. Still, treating this waiver loss as a major blunder feels like an overreaction.
Can the Oilers reclaim him?
It’s worth noting that if the Hurricanes discover that Philp is the player they’re taking a flier against in this waiver claim, they could place him back on waivers. And with Carolina dealing with an injury to Seth Jarvis, that’s a real possibility if the roster gets healthy.
In such a case, the Oilers would get the first chance to sign the player back, which might be the case. This is a player the Oilers liked and probably thought would slip through. They didn’t like him enough to call him anything more than a depth player and weren’t willing to commit a spot for him on the main roster.
Next: Pickard’s best game of the season interrupts the Oilers goalies’ plans
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