Zach Hyman won't dress tonight in Vancouver, and the Edmonton Oilers are now staring at roughly two weeks without the veteran forward.
Jack Michaels reported the news Thursday afternoon. The injury happened in the preseason finale against Calgary, a 4-1 Edmonton win on September 26.
The timeline is approximate. And approximate timelines in October have a funny way of stretching once the medical staff gets a second look.
The odd wrinkle? Hyman still dressed for Tuesday's opener, finishing without a point but at plus-1 in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Canucks.
That night exposed bigger problems than one forward. Tristan Jarry finished with a .739 save percentage, and a team can't absorb a lineup hole when the crease is leaking like that.
Evan Bouchard did his part from the blue line with three goals and five points. Nobody should expect a defenceman to carry that kind of offensive output every night.
Mike Babcock faces an early lineup test before the California swing
The schedule offers zero cover. After tonight's rematch, Edmonton hosts Seattle on Saturday, then heads out for Anaheim, San Jose and Los Angeles.
If the estimate holds, that's five games. Three of them come on the road.
Babcock was hired in June. Now he gets an early read on how deep this forward group actually runs.
The early evidence isn't encouraging. Isaac Howard, Max Jones and Owen Michaels all went pointless in the opener.
Alex Formenton is the exception, posting an assist and a plus-3 in that game. If he gets bumped up the lineup, he earned it.
Here's the part Edmonton can't mess up. Hyman is 34, and rushing him back just to make the California trip would be a bad idea.
Bringing a veteran back early in October is like pulling a cake out of the oven because the kitchen smells good. It looks done. It isn't.
The $5,500,000 cap hit stays on the books while he sits. For a two-week absence, Stan Bowman has little reason to go shopping.
Vancouver comes in riding a two-game winning streak. Edmonton comes in still chasing its first win, now a veteran short.
Simple calendar math puts the two-week mark near the October 15 home date with Utah. Whether it stays two weeks, and who grabs those minutes in the meantime, nobody can schedule.
-
Should the Oilers keep Zach Hyman out until after the California road trip?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Connor Hellebuyck to the Oilers? The trade would come with an ironic Jeff Skinner twist
