‘Definitely soon… maybe tomorrow’: Knoblauch’s ambiguity around Hyman’s return continues

“Unfortunately, not ready for tonight.”

“Definitely sometime this week.”

“Maybe tomorrow, if we’re really lucky.”

“Definitely by Saturday.”

If you were looking for an answer as to when Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman will return to the lineup, that’s the best Kris Knoblauch has to offer, as his ambiguity around injury news continues.

It’s not a new trend for the Oilers head coach, who has been shy to share injury news since he was hired in Edmonton two years ago today.

While it’s understandable there’s a desire for Hyman to be up to speed when he returns, Hyman said in late October he was “ready to go,” noting how it was the doctors who “are there to protect you from yourself at times.” The same day, Knoblauch said he was hopeful that Hyman would return for last Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, though that didn’t happen.

Nonetheless, Hyman’s been skating with the team for some time now, and whenever he does return, it will surely be an added boost to the team.

Such ambiguity was the case with Mattias Janmark. He played in two preseason games — one on September 24th against Seattle and another on the 26th against Winnipeg — but was then out of the lineup. On Oct. 3rd, Knoblauch said Janmark would be out for “about a week,” then on October 14th, a Tuesday, he said he “hopes” to have him back for that weekend. After the Oilers’ Oct. 21 game against the Ottawa Senators, he said Janmark was “not coming back anytime soon,” only for him to make his season debut finally Monday against Columbus.

The injury Hyman is returning from is undoubtedly a major one, suffering a fractured wrist that required surgery. A slow approach was to be expected, and there’s nothing wrong with the organization being cautious, but further clarity about injuries — not just from Knoblauch but teams across the league as a whole — is something that should change.