Oilers Losing Noah Philp on Waivers: The Full Story

The Noah Philp situation isn’t nearly as dramatic as some fans are making it out to be.

At 27, Philp was already older than many of the Oilers’ promising young forwards. Guys like Vasily Podkolzin, Matt Savoie, and others are not only younger but closer to being NHL-ready.

Sure, being a right-shot center with size made him interesting. But when you’re barely getting 10 minutes of ice time per game, that’s telling. Even more revealing? The coaches didn’t trust him on the penalty kill – they actually had him serve a bench minor instead.

“This is just how the NHL works,” explained Jason Gregor on Sports 1440. “Almost every team in the league had a chance to grab Philp before Carolina did.”

The Oilers have actually done pretty well playing the waiver wire game themselves. While they lost Troy Stecher, they’ve picked up both Kasperi Kapanen and Alec Regula this way.

Could Philp turn into a solid NHL player with the Hurricanes? Maybe. He’s got good skating ability and size. But there’s no guarantee he’ll develop into anything more than a depth piece.

The real issue here isn’t losing Philp – it’s Edmonton’s habit of leaning on older veterans instead of giving younger, cheaper players a real shot.

Here’s the interesting part: Carolina might end up putting Philp back on waivers once Seth Jarvis returns from injury. If that happens, the Oilers get first dibs on bringing him back.

The truth is, the Oilers liked Philp enough to keep him around as a depth option. They just weren’t willing to guarantee him an NHL roster spot. That’s not mismanaging assets – that’s just hockey.