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Oilers Makes Big Statement On Waived Defender

EDMONTON -- There's never a dull moment.

The regular season starts today, with three games on tap. The Edmonton Oilers begin their season tomorrow night with a home opener against the Winnipeg Jets.

Yesterday, the Oilers made a series of moves in preparation to submit their opening night roster. One move that the team made on Monday was to put several players on waivers so that they could be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors.

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Raphael Lavoie, Drake Caggulia, Olivier Rodrigue, and Josh Brown were all sent down. Unfortunately, Lavoie was subsequently claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stan Bowman made an appearance on the Bob Stauffer-hosted Oilers Now show yesterday. He made some comments about the competition on the Oilers roster and why Brown was waived.

Josh Brown.<p>Perry Nelson-Imagn Images</p>
Josh Brown.

Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

"He didn't have his best training camp, I think that was apparent in talking to him," Bowman began. He continued, "one of the things you have to do as a team is evaluate who deserves to be here to start the season. We made the determination that his game wasn't where we wanted it to be."

"Obviously, we hope that he can get it together. I thought he was beat out by some other players, that happens," Bowman told Stauffer. "That doesn't mean he's not valuable, it just means we want to get him going and get him back up to where we need him to be to help our team."

"We are here to reward the players who bring the most to the lineup, that have earned it."

Playing in Bakersfield should work wonders for Brown. The rugged defender has an opportunity to earn big minutes and play a key role for the Oilers' AHL affiliate.

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