Ryan Nugent-Hopkins won’t suit up against the Vancouver Canucks tonight, with coach Mike Babcock saying the forward is dealing with a lower-body injury. Jack Michaels reported that the absence could follow a “two-week timeline.”
It’s another hit to an already thin forward group. Jason Dickinson is also out after a setback tied to the foot injury that bothered him last season, while Matt Savoie is on injured reserve as well.
With Nugent-Hopkins unavailable, Max Jones could be the next man in, unless Edmonton opts to dress 11 forwards and seven defencemen. Bob Stauffer said Vasily Podkolzin will slide into Nugent-Hopkins’ spot on the top power play unit.
The lineup picture could get even messier from there. The forward combinations the Oilers have been working with may need to be shuffled, including a look that puts Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together on the top line while Colton Dach and Owen Michaels handle centre roles in the bottom six. Babcock may also be weighing a split of McDavid and Draisaitl to help balance the lines amid another centre injury.
Josh Samanski was the final forward sent down to Bakersfield as Edmonton had to get to its 23-man roster by Monday afternoon.
The injury list is already crowded. Frederik Andersen, Alec Regula and Mattias Janmark are all on the shelf, leaving the Oilers with five players starting the season on IR. Nugent-Hopkins could become the sixth.
PuckPedia noted that on Monday night after the rosters were filed.
Edmonton opens the year with a home-and-home against Vancouver tonight and Thursday, then returns home to face the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
In Other News...
Oilers May Be Eyeing A Risky Bet They Cant Afford
The Oilers are again being linked to a name that comes with as much uncertainty as upside. NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Edmonton has interest in Canadiens centre Kirby Dach, a player whose size and skill still make him intriguing if a team believes there is more to unlock. For a club always searching for help down the middle, that alone makes the fit easy to understand.
Dachs path in Montreal has been complicated by injuries, and his recent performance has not matched the promise he showed when he first arrived with the Canadiens. Martin St. Louis has also publicly stressed the need for Dach to stay alert and work hard during games, a reminder that any team betting on him is buying into potential as much as production. For the Oilers, the question is whether that kind of gamble is worth the risk. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Identity Under Babcock Is Already Showing In One Key Area
Mike Babcock did not wait long to put his stamp on the Oilers in preseason, and one of the clearest signs came in the simple but often overlooked matter of faceoff location. In Edmontons game against Vancouver, the focus was less on one flashy shift than on structure, with the coaching staff clearly paying attention to where different groups were starting their work and how those choices could shape the flow of the game. It was the kind of detail that can look minor in September and matter a lot more once the points count.
The setup also hinted at how Edmonton wants to build confidence throughout the lineup, giving certain units a chance to attack from favorable spots while others handle more defensive responsibility. Faceoffs after stoppages, especially following TV timeouts, became part of that larger rhythm, with the Oilers trying to turn those moments into momentum rather than just another restart. It is early, but the way those draws are being deployed suggests this teams identity under Babcock may already be taking shape in the margins. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Cap Crunch Could Create A Tough Roster Squeeze Soon
The opening of the season has already pushed Edmonton into a familiar kind of early-schedule bookkeeping, with the roster deadline now behind it and the club juggling a tight cap picture. The Oilers are carrying $2.85 million in dead money, including Jack Campbells buyout, and only a sliver of breathing room under the ceiling, which means every roster move carries extra weight for a team trying to stay competitive while managing injuries.
That pressure has only grown with a cluster of players on injured reserve, including Mattias Janmark, Alec Regula, Frederik Andersen, Jason Dickinson and Matt Savoie. How the Oilers navigate those placements and any related call-ups or transactions will matter not just now, but over the course of the season, with the cap situation likely to shape decisions well before the trade deadline. [Read more 🡒]