Keep up to date on the latest rumours and speculation around the NHL beat with TSN.ca's Rumour Mill.

Something's Gotta Give?

The Edmonton Oilers picked up a familiar face on waivers Sunday in defenceman Brandon Davidson, but his return could mean the end of someone else's time with the NHL club.

The Oilers have seven healthy defencemen and that number hits eight when Adam Larsson comes off injured reserve.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal writes that something will have to give once Larsson returns. He believes Yohann Auvitu could be sent down, but notes he's also one of the team's best skaters.

Matheson adds that Eric Gryba could also be a candidate, while it's no guarantee Davidson isn't simply placed back on waivers.

Larsson was expected to return Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, but head coach Todd McLellan said the defenceman is expected to miss slightly more time. Larsson has been out since Nov. 30 with an upper-body injury.

Of the Oilers' seven healthy blueliners, only Darnell Nurse is waiver-exempt. And the Oilers will face another roster crunch when Andrej Sekera makes his return from off-season knee surgery later this month.

Perhaps the Oilers could use one of their defenceman to acquire the goaltending help they're believed to seeking.

Job Saver?

The Detroit Red Wings entered Tuesday's game against the red-hot Winnipeg Jets coming off their worst loss of the season - a 10-1 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.

Having lost a total of seven straight games, Ansar Khan of MLive speculated that another blowout loss against the Jets could have spelled the end of head coach Jeff Blashill's time with the Red Wings. 

The Red Wings responded with a 5-1 win over Winnipeg and Blashill credited the team's veterans for leading the way as Detroit won their first game since Nov. 17.

"I think our leadership did a real good job after the last game of setting the tone, saying that obviously wasn't good enough," Blashill said. "I thought top to bottom everybody was playing. We felt our best advantage was to win with four lines and I thought we had four lines going pretty good."

Adding Depth

The New York Rangers placed goaltender Marek Mazanec on waivers Tuesday, a move needed before they can sign the former Nashville Predator.

Mazanec opened the season with Bratislava Slovan of the KHL, posting a 4-15-2 record with an .899 save percentage and a 3.40 goals-against average. According to CapFriendly, he must clear waivers in order to re-enter the NHL. A contract announcement could come from the Rangers once Mazanec clears waivers on Wednesday.

According Steve Zipay of Newsday, the Rangers are signing Mazanec to bolster depth for the AHL's Hartford Wolfpack. 

The 26-year-old signed a one-year contract extension with the Predators in July, but voided the deal less than a month later to join the KHL.

He made two starts and appeared in four games with the Predators last season, posting an 0-2 record with a 4.72 goals-against average and a .839 save percentage

Mazanec posted a 27-17-1 record in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals last season. He was a sixth-round pick of the Predators in 2012.