A former Edmonton Oiler was placed on waivers Wednesday.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes have placed Noah Philp on waivers, who they had claimed off waivers from the Oilers in late December. The big question is, should the Oilers put a claim on him?

All clear

Philp (CAR) on waivers

Mermis (TOR) Aston-Reese & Gaunce (CLB) on waivers

After getting a cup of tea with the Oilers in 2024-25, Philp made the Oilers roster out of pre-season to begin the 2025-26 season. The right-shot centre was held pointless in his season debut, finishing as a -2, but he scored in the second game of the season, before being scratched for the next three games. Upon returning to the lineup for the Oilers’ sixth game of the season, Philp found twine again.

Those stand as Philp’s lone two goals of the season (and his National Hockey League career), while he also picked up an assist in his fifth game of the season. Over his final 10 games with the Oilers, he was a -5 with no points and two penalty minutes, registering just seven shots on goal.

Philp’s underlying numbers weren’t particularly encouraging either, as the Oilers scored three goals when he was on the ice, as opposed to allowing 10 goals during five-on-five action according to Natural Stat Trick. Over 140 minutes of five-on-five action, the Oilers were out-shot, out-chanced, and out-scored heavily with Philp on the ice.

After being claimed by the Hurricanes, Philp played just two pointless games, as he spent most of his time in the press box or on the injured reserve. Those two games came on January 4th and January 6th, both saw the Hurricanes take home the victory.

If the Oilers wish to use Philp as a 13th forward, this move doesn’t really make sense. For starters, it adds an additional cap hit of $775,000, which isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it’s not quite worth it for a player sitting in the press box. A big reason why a return to the Oilers would result in the press box for Philp is because of Curtis Lazar.

Like Philp, Lazar is a right-shot centre. The 30-year-old has found success in the Oilers bottom six, scoring three goals and five points in 31 games. Both players are strong in the faceoff dot, but what separates Lazar from Philp (other than experience) is that Lazar has made up a formidable fourth line.

Recently, Lazar has played alongside Trent Frederic and Mattias Jamark. In the trio’s 47 minutes together during five-on-five action, they’ve yet to score a goal or be on the ice for a goal against, but have 63.3 percent of the expected goals. All of this is according to Natural Stat Trick.

They’ve also attempted 51 shots, while the opposition has attempted 34 shots. The trio have doubled the opposition’s shot total, landing 26 shots on goal while allowing just 13 of their own. In terms of scoring chances, the trio have 29 scoring chances to the opposition’s 18, while they’ve had 16 high-danger scoring chances to the opposition’s eight high-danger scoring chances.

This is not a line the Oilers should be breaking up anytime soon, and adding Philp as a 13th forward runs the possibility of disrupting the chemistry the trio has established.

That said, there is a pathway in which it make sense to claim Philp. If the Oilers are the lone team to claim the right-shot centre, they can automatically re-assign him to the American Hockey League as he’s played fewer than 10 games and hasn’t been on the Hurricanes’ roster for more than 30 days.

It’s worth noting the Oilers don’t get priority, so if one of the 20 teams below the Oilers in the standings put in a claim, the team with the fewest points will be the team that lands the right-shot centre.

If this is their plan, the Oilers should absolutely pursue that option, as more depth is never a bad thing. That said, with the trade deadline looming and the fourth line finding success, claiming Philp to be the 13th forward or even an NHL regular doesn’t make sense at the moment.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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