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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers have placed F Tyler Ennis on waivers this morning:
Ennis (EDM) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 25, 2021
It’s no secret that Tyler Ennis has had a rough go to start this season. Part of the, so far, disappointing bottom six, Ennis has seen his on-ice rates plummet in 2021. After posting career lows (~35%) in CF%, FF%, SF%, xG%, and SCF%, perhaps it comes as no surprise that he might find himself on the outside looking in.
But there’s also this:
Tyler Ennis shouldn’t pass waivers
— Weebo (@OilersPain) January 25, 2021
He’s a good skilled player on a cheap contract that’s having a slow start after an injury
Why not expose someone with a higher cap hit and less skill?
We’re talking 7 games so far, folks. It was less than a year ago when Ennis was being helped off the ice after breaking his leg in the “playoffs”.
He makes a cool $1MM per while Alex Chiasson commands $2.1MM, Zack Kassian $3.2MM, and James Neal $5.75MM for this year and two more. There were probably better candidates for exposure than Ennis. There’s a decent chance he regresses positively and provides value against his cap hit over the season. I doubt that’s the case for any of the other three.