Bowman Offers a Sliver of Good News on Savoie

One day after the Oilers confirmed that Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen would both miss the start of training camp, GM Stan Bowman walked back some of the concern — at least on the Savoie front. Bowman signaled Thursday that Savoie's absence could be short-term, suggesting the young center is closer to a return than the initial report implied.

It's a small thing, but it matters. When I wrote Wednesday that Edmonton was now dealing with five players out, Savoie was the one name that felt most disruptive to Babcock's ability to evaluate his forward depth in real time. He played 49 games last season and was one of the few roster pieces with something left to prove heading into a new coaching staff's first camp. Getting him back sooner rather than later at least restores some of that picture.

The other four — Andersen, Henrique, Janmark, and Regula — remain out with no updated timelines. That part of the crunch hasn't changed. Babcock still opens camp without his starting goaltender and without two of his more reliable forward options. Bowman's optimism on Savoie is a footnote to a larger problem, not a solution to it. The opener against Vancouver is September 29, and the math on who's available that night is still unsettled.