Oilers forward Adam Erne has cleared waivers

Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Erne has cleared through waivers and can now report to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reported on Wednesday.

Erne was placed on waivers on Tuesday in order for the Oilers to open up the salary cap room necessary to sign Sam Gagner to a one-year contract worth $775k and add him to the active roster.

Like Gagner, Erne came to training camp with the Oilers on a professional tryout contract. He played in six pre-season games and scored two goals and four points and inked a one-year, $775k contract shortly after the start of the regular season.

Erne has suited up in six of Edmonton’s nine games so far this season and hasn’t really been noticeable. He doesn’t have a goal or an assist and is logging only 8:19 per game, with his season-high of 13:06 coming in the team’s blowout win against the Nashville Predators.

The hope for the Oilers is that Gagner will be a better depth scoring option than Erne. Gagner scored eight goals and 14 points over 48 games for the Winnipeg Jets last season before his season came to an end because of an injury. He didn’t play for the Oilers during the pre-season but Gagner fared well in the AHL, as he scored one goal and five points in three games with the Condors.

Meanwhile, Erne will head to Bakersfield and will join the group of forwards who are pushing for a roster spot on the big-league roster. Top prospect Raphael Lavoie is leading the charger with seven points and 17 penalty minutes through five games while Lane Pederson and James Hamblin have made cases for themselves as fourth-line options well.

Erne was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 33rd overall pick in the 2013 draft. He spent a few seasons bouncing between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate and was traded to the Detroit Red Wings ahead of the 2019-20 season, one of the first moves made by gagner manager Steve Yzerman after taking over for Ken Holland.

Last season, Erne scored eight goals and 18 points over 61 games with the Red Wings and five points in nine games with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.