The Edmonton Oilers sorely missed Zach Hyman during their second consecutive loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final — and they might not have the star forward for the start of the 2025-26 season.
“Have one more meeting with the surgeon to wrap it up,” Hyman told NHL.com's Dan Rosen at Hockey Canada's 2025 National Teams Orientation Camp earlier this week. “Will I be ready for the start of the season? I don't know. But I'm on the right track, which is good. The fact that I don't know is a good thing because it could be, ‘No, I'm not.'”
Hyman suffered a dislocated wrist in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. He underwent surgery shortly afterwards that kept him out for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Although it's not ideal that the 33-year-old might not be ready for October, it is positive that his recovery is on the right track. He will continue building up strength in the wrist in order to try to be cleared for opening night.
Hyman also commented on what it felt like to watch the entire Stanley Cup Final from the press box.
“It was miserable,” the Toronto native told Rosen. “It's very horrible, very hard. No matter what you're stressed whether you're up or down. You have no control. You're helpless. At the same time you're trying to keep it all together and be supportive for the guys who are playing. So when I wasn't around them I was a stress case, and when I was I just tried to be an emotional support system, anchor for those guys.”
Hyman enjoyed a career year in 2023-24, amassing 54 goals and 77 points in 80 games before adding another 22 points in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He wasn't able to build on that in 2024-25, regressing to 27 goals and 44 points in 73 regular season contests before managing 11 points in 15 postseason games.
Oilers have a few young players who could fill in for Zach Hyman
If Hyman is unavailable when the season starts, young forwards Isaac Howard and Matthew Savoie could both get a look on the top line alongside Connor McDavid.
Howard was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning after winning the Hobey Baker Award with Michigan State. He should be pencilled into a top-six role regardless of how Hyman's recovery progresses.
As for Savoie, he spent last season with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, managing 54 points in 66 games. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 draft looks ready for a full time NHL role as well.
If Hyman misses the first 10 games and 24 days of the new campaign, he would become LTIR-eligible, which would open up some short-term cap flexibility. As it is, Edmonton projects to have less than $226K of cap space heading into the season, per PuckPedia.
The Oilers begin their 2025-26 regular season in a Battle of Alberta against the Calgary Flames on October 8. It'll be interesting to see if Hyman is an option for head coach Kris Knoblauch at that time.
