Well, well, well, would you take a look at that, the Edmonton Oilers have once again given the proverbial boot to winger Adam Erne, sending him off to the waiver wire wilds this Monday with hopes of a magical disappearing act to AHL Bakersfield. Yep, folks, déjà vu is real because this isn’t some thrilling inaugural trip for Erne—it’s the second joyride on the waiver rollercoaster this season for the guy.
Flashback to early November when Erne had his first tango with the waivers, and oh, what a brief and uneventful escapade that was! Two weeks of AHL antics, a largely “meh” performance with one solitary goal to his name, and a cringe-worthy -5 to finish off the minuscule four-game stint. Cue the sad trombone, am I right?
Back in the NHL, where the air is rare and the spotlight’s bright, Erne’s numbers look like they’ve been through the wash too many times—faded and barely there. We’re talking a whopping two points, nine penalty minutes, and an almost ironically positive +2 across twenty-three games. And playing time? Puh-lease, the guy’s been collecting splinters on the bench more than ice time, clocking in a sad, league-low average of seven minutes and forty-six seconds. That’s barely enough time to lace up his skates.
The plot twist? This is just Erne’s freshman year with the Oilers, folks. He swaggered into their camp wanting to try out, landed himself a professional try-out contract, and lo and behold—secured himself a shiny one-year deal worth a whopping $775K only two days after the season’s fireworks began. Talk about a quick sell. Now that’s what you call optimism! This stint makes it team number three in his league-hopping NHL career, following some time playing musical chairs with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings.
So, why the exile now, you might wonder? Enter stage right: veteran forward Corey Perry, whose grand entrance undoubtedly flipped Erne’s script. Perry, with a résumé that dates back to the era of flip phones and Myspace, glided in with a history of 1,273 career games and 1,392 points, which sounds like a whole lot of “move over, kiddo.” The man has numbers that actually care to show up. Perry’s jumped ship from skating with the Chicago Blackhawks and now Edmonton’s all like, “Hey, maybe this old-timer can teach us a few new tricks!”
For the Oilers, it’s all about lighting a fire on the ice with Perry, while Erne’s chances flicker out—like a candle in the wind, or more like an overused lighter running out of gas. Time will tell if Perry’s got enough spark or if Erne gets a third shot at waving from the waivers. Stay tuned for another episode of ‘As the Roster Turns.’