Defenceman Mark Fayne is the latest Edmonton Oiler to be placed on what is becoming a very expensive Oops Pile.
With Nikita Nikitin ($4.5 million), Ben Scrivens ($2.3 million) and Fayne ($3.6 million) in the minors and Andrew Ference ($3.25 million on a no movement clause) collecting dust in the NHL, the Oilers are essentially paying four players $13.675 million in salary to not play here.
Ouch.
While these costly errors in contractual judgement are embarrassing and reflect poorly on previous management’s ability to assess talent and career arcs, they also reflect a shift in the Oilers development process - they are finally cultivating enough depth to provide better options at those positions.