Goaltender Scrivens put on waivers

Unwilling to live with his predecessors’ mistakes — even at a significant cost — Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli put goaltender Ben Scrivens on waivers Sunday, with the purpose of assigning him to the American Hockey League.

The move was made just one day after Russian defenceman Nikita Nikitin was dismissed.

With Scrivens out of the equation, that leaves the net in the hands of Cam Talbot and Anders Nilsson — both newcomers. Talbot was acquired at the NHL entry draft; Nilsson was acquired in a quiet July trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for prospect Liam Coughlin.

Chiarelli said at the time that he wanted insurance in the net, he wanted competition. He didn’t want a team that was going to give up another league-high 276 goals, as was the case last season. That had as much to do with the Oilers’ defensive game as it did with goaltending, but was clearly an area that needed to be improved.

Nilsson, who spent last season in the Kontinental Hockey League, signed a one-year, $1-million contract after the trade, then proceeded to turn away all 53 shots he saw in 120 minutes of pre-season action.

His game couldn’t be dismissed. Scrivens had to do enough to erase last season’s baggage, which included a 3.16 goals-against average through regular stretches of inconsistent play, and clearly, Chiarelli wasn’t going to let contracts dictate his decisions.

Scrivens, who will carry a $1.35 million cap hit to the AHL, will be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors assuming he clears. Nikitin’s contract, a two-year, $9 million deal signed by then GM Craig MacTavish, expires on July 1.

NHL teams that send players on a one-way contract to the AHL do get a cap relief of $950,000 so Nikitin’s cap hit drops to $3.550 million while he’s in Bakersfield. Still, that’s $6.8 million that the Oilers will pay two players to not play in the NHL.

Scrivens was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings at a point when the Oilers’ goaltending situation was in crisis. His tenure with the Oilers started strong, which earned him a two-year, $4.6 million contract extension.

With the two waiver moves, the Oilers are considerably closer to finalizing their 23-man roster, which has to be submitted by Tuesday afternoon, but there are still some tough decisions to be made.

Captain Andrew Ference wasn’t in the lineup against the Canucks on Saturday, which may or may not be a sign of things to come.

Anton Slepyshev has to be a consideration after his camp; and what of Leon Draisaitl, who has been auditioning on the wing?

“The decision are always tough,” head coach Todd McLellan said after the Oilers dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Canucks, closing out their pre-season with a 6-1-1 record.

“And we’re still trying to figure players out. Even the Nugent-Hopkins and the Halls ... The guys who are going to be here, we’re still trying to figure them out, and I know they’re trying to figure us as well, but decisions are always tough this time of the year.”

One of the areas to be addressed is the three-on-three preparation. McLellan said on Saturday that there were other priorities through camp, but that the new overtime format would be a focal point before the seasonopener Thursday in St. Louis.

“We’ll be ready,” said winger Benoit Pouliot, who had his strongest game of the preseason Saturday, in tandem with Nugent-Hopkins and Teddy Purcell. “We have a few days now to do a few things in practice. We have the time to do it.”

“It was a really good game for us,” said Hall. “You want that going into the season. We’re ( just) going to have a good week of practice. It’s not an easy start to the season.”

Talbot went the distance in Vancouver, stopping 24 shots. Nilsson served as his backup.

“He made some tremendous saves early for us to get into the game, then late. ... He looked very solid,” said McLellan.