Hyman placed on LTIR, Tomášek and Howard recalled as Oilers continue pre-season roster shuffle

On Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers announced they have placed Zach Hyman on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), while forwards David Tomášek and Isaac Howard have been recalled from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. As was expected with these moves, forward James Hamblin has been returned to Bakersfield.

The team shared on Monday that they had loaned Tomášek and Howard to the Condors, recalling forward Hamblin from the minors and placing Mattias Janmark on IR in the process. While the move sparked some confusion, they were simple paper transactions with the purpose of remaining cap compliant, which PuckPedia broke down as follows:

– Tomášek & Howard down, Janmark IR
– Call up $775K guy unlikely to be on team (like Hamblin)
– Have $834 cap space & submit opening roster
– Add Hyman to LTIR, able to exceed cap by $3.8M ($834 away from optimal)
– By Wed (Day 2 for cap purposes), call up Tomášek/Howard, send down extra $775K guy
– Have $1.8M Cap Space remaining in LTIR

Indeed, with Tomášek and Howard back in Edmonton and Hamblin in the AHL, we are right on track with that schedule. Now that the Oilers have completed their complex roster moves, they can ice the players they want on opening night.

Signed on a one-year, $1.2 million contract, Tomášek will look to prove his worth to Edmonton’s bottom six this season in his rookie year. At 29 years old, the undrafted Czech skater is set to make his NHL debut Wednesday after playing in Europe up to this point in his career.

Howard has been one of the team’s most anticipated prospects since being acquired in the summer, and will look to carve a meaningful role with the team to start the year, debuting alongside fellow top prospect Matt Savoie. Completing his time in college last year, Howard is set to begin his entry-level contract this season, with an annual cap hit of $925k over the next three years.

In Bakersfield, Hamblin will continue to wear the ‘A’ as the team’s assistant captain. Last season, he had 19 goals and 45 points in 51 games played with the Condors. The 26-year-old Edmonton native played 41 games with the Oilers from 2022-2024, with two goals and an assist.