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Oilers may soon bring back Josh Archibald, but his travel ability will be limited

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Colton Pankiw
February 25, 2022  (1:06 PM)
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Prior to the 2021-22 season starting, it was announced that the Edmonton Oilers had one player who chose to remain unvaccinated. Shortly thereafter, that player was confirmed to be Josh Archibald.

It was a big problem for the Oilers, as being unvaccinated meant that Archibald would not be able to play in any games in the USA. However, that problem never came to fruition, as the 29-year-old ended up being diagnosed with myocarditis due to having COVID-19 in the summertime. The good news is that he has been given the go ahead by several doctors to return to the ice. The bad is that he remains unvaccinated.

This likely means that if and when Archibald gets in practice time and is good to go, the Oilers will either assign him to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, or perhaps trade him to a team in the USA. He is a very effective bottom six player when in the lineup, but would have to miss far too many games to be an asset to the Oilers. This will be an interesting situation to monitor in the coming days and weeks.