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Neal Moved to Oilers Taxi Squad… Plus Bear, Bouchard, McDavid News

James Neal was moved to the Oilers taxi squad Monday. Plus there’s news on Connor McDavid, Ethan Bear and Evan Bouchard.

As per an official announcement by the Edmonton Oilers prior to Monday’s game versus the Winnipeg Jets, Devin Shore has been recalled and James Neal has been loaned to the taxi squad. The move isn’t terribly surprising considering Neal was placed on waivers and cleared this weekend.

Related: Puljujarvi Cleared from COVID Protocol, Can Resume Activities with Oilers

The Oilers placed Neal on waivers likely for the purposes of placing him on the team’s taxi squad. The move gives the club a bit more cap flexibility seeing as Neal makes $5.75 million per season and it was unlikely another team would claim his contract. Once he cleared, the Oilers simply needed to decide if they would actually move him to the taxi squad or just wanted the option to. The organization answered that question on Monday.

Neal hasn’t looked quite like the player who produced 19 goals for the club since coming over in a trade for Milan Lucic last offseason. He seems a bit slower and has only two goals on the season, both which came in the same game.

The Oilers may now move him on and off the roster in the event of injury or other forwards struggling.

Bear Won’t Play Monday

In other news, despite practicing with the team on Sunday, Ethan Bear will not go for the Oilers on Monday night. Head coach Dave Tippett simply said, “No, Ethan won’t play tonight.”

While no other information was provided, it doesn’t sound like there’s a complication worth noting. It’s more a matter of the team thinking he’s not quite ready and not rushing him back. With so many active defensemen playing strong hockey for the team, there’s really not a good reason to.

Look for another strong game from Evan Bouchard who has gained the confidence of his coach. Tippett noted that Bouchard has done exactly what has been asked of him and will continue to play as long as he does so.

When it comes to Caleb Jones, Tippett hinted slotting in defenseman a juggling act and noted that not everyone can play. He said when Bouchard was out, everyone wanted him in. Now that Bouchard is in, everyone wants to see Jones. It’s the challenge of having guys that can go.

Could McDavid Reach 500 Points?

Connor McDavid (171-326—497 in 367 GP) sits three points shy of becoming the fastest active player to reach 500 career points. He’s been relatively quiet over the past few games and one has to wonder if tonight will be a game where he explodes on offense and reaches the milestone?

Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers retro jersey

Great players tend to find ways to personally motivate themselves and this has to be a decent motivator. Throughout this season, when McDavid has been held off the scoresheet or had quiet games, he tends to come back with a huge performance.

In the first game, when he didn’t score, he put up four points in the second game, including a hat trick. When he scored three points in four games coming out of that game two, he went on a huge scoring streak, scoring 15 points in five games.

Anyone else feel a massive game coming on?

The Oilers come into Monday’s game on a 7-3-0 run in their last 10. They are technically the hottest team in the North Division during that stretch. If they win tonight, they’ll take over second place. If they lose, they’ll be sitting in fourth.

Next: Why Calgary Flames Trade Talk on Sam Bennett Has Cooled Considerably

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