The Edmonton Oilers have barely gotten started, and their injury situation is already becoming a major problem.
Edmonton entered the season without Matt Savoie, Jason Dickinson, Mattias Janmark, Alec Regula and Frederik Andersen. Then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins went down with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Now Zach Hyman is also unavailable after suffering an upper-body injury in the preseason.
Suddenly, the Oilers are missing three important forwards from their expected lineup.
And the timing couldn’t be worse.
Hyman is coming off a 31-goal season. Nugent-Hopkins scored 20 goals and added 36 assists last season. Dickinson was expected to provide important depth down the middle.
This isn’t simply about replacing three names on a roster.
It’s about replacing players who were supposed to make Edmonton’s forward group deep enough to support its superstars over an entire season.
McDavid and Draisaitl Can Only Cover So Much
The Oilers’ solution for now is obvious.
Put Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together and let the two best offensive players on the team try to carry the attack.
That’s exactly what Edmonton is doing against Vancouver on Thursday, with the two superstars reunited on the top line alongside Vasily Podkolzin.
On paper, it makes perfect sense.
The problem is everything behind them.
Colton Dach is suddenly centering the second line alongside Max Jones and Kasperi Kapanen. Owen Michaels is being asked to center the third line, while Josh Samanski, who was recalled from Bakersfield under emergency conditions, is making just his 25th NHL appearance.
That is a significant amount of responsibility for players who weren’t expected to occupy those roles this early.
McDavid and Draisaitl can generate offense against almost anyone. They can also make their linemates better.
But there are limits.
If the Oilers are forced to lean this heavily on their two superstars every night, it could create problems over the long haul. Edmonton needs secondary scoring, reliable depth and players capable of taking some of the pressure off its stars.
Right now, the injuries are taking all three things away.
The Oilers Need Their Injured Players Back Quickly
There is a crucial difference here.
The Oilers don’t necessarily have a season-ending problem. Most of these injuries are not expected to keep players out for months.
Hyman, for example, is officially listed as day-to-day, although coach Mike Babcock suggested that could mean roughly two weeks. Nugent-Hopkins was also initially considered day-to-day, while Dickinson was expected to miss at least the beginning of the season.
That means Edmonton can survive this.
But it needs to survive it without allowing the situation to snowball.
The Oilers already opened the season with a 6-5 overtime loss to Vancouver, blowing a three-goal lead before eventually losing. Now they are heading into the rematch with an even more depleted forward group.
That’s not ideal.
Babcock has called the injuries an opportunity for younger players, and there is some truth to that. If players like Dach, Michaels, Howard and Samanski can take advantage of their increased roles, Edmonton could discover some unexpected depth.
But that is asking a lot.
The Oilers built this team to win now. They cannot afford to spend the first month of the season simply hoping their injury problems resolve themselves.
McDavid and Draisaitl can carry Edmonton for stretches.
They cannot carry an entire lineup.
And if the Oilers don’t get some of their injured forwards back soon, this early-season problem could become much bigger than anyone expected.
Oilers’ Injury Situation Could Derail Their Season Early