The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Tyler Benson on waivers.
Benson, 24, was drafted by the Oilers in the second round of the 2016 draft and has appeared in 36 NHL games with the Oilers.
Most of that action has come this year where he’s appeared in 29 games scoring one goal and one assist. Known for being a scorer at every level throughout his career, he’s had to retool his game to become more of a grinding, in-your-face fourth-liner this season.
It’s worked, to an extent, as he’s been able to find a spot in the lineup. However, it’s worked to his detriment at times taking 18 PIM this season.
Most recently, Benson got a 10-minute misconduct against the Calgary Flames on March 7th for saying something to the referees after Milan Lucic hit Philip Broberg hard into the boards.
Benson’s has seen much success in the American Hockey League up to this point in his career appearing in 156 games scoring 34 goals and 141 points. It translates, via NHL equivalency score, to roughly a 40 point NHL season. While far away from that at this point in his career, there’s still work to be done on Benson’s game.
If he clears waivers, he’s likely bound for the AHL’s Condors where he would take top-line minutes right away.
On top of that, it signals that Jesse Puljujarvi could be activated ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. That would be a huge add to the Oilers lineup.
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