Oilers 2026-27 Player Previews: Zach Hyman

The 2026-27 season is almost here, so let’s continue our Edmonton Oilers player preview series. The last player we looked at was Jason Dickinson, and now we turn our attention to arguably the greatest free agent signing in Oilers history.

Zach Hyman has been outstanding for Edmonton since signing a seven-year contract with a $5.5 million cap hit. He has scored over 26 goals in each of his five seasons with the Oilers, including three over 30, and a remarkable 54-goal campaign. He has been a perfect fit on the top line alongside Connor McDavid.

Despite missing the first 19 games of the season with a wrist injury sustained in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final the season prior, Hyman still registered 31 goals and 52 points last season. He has been the epitome of consistency, and even with age, his play hasn’t regressed. He’s a fan-favourite because he brings the effort and energy every game, while still scoring goals. He has a nose for the net and can get to the dirty areas to create quality scoring chances. His game hasn’t changed, so fans should expect more of the same this season. With that said, here’s his 2026-27 season preview.

Best Case Scenario

Hyman should be an integral part of this offence once again. He’s their third-best offensive weapon, behind McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. If he stays healthy, a 40-goal campaign would be amazing. If he stays on the top line and on the power play, 40 goals should be well within reach. The Oilers are thin on the wing, especially in the top six, so there’s no reason to believe that Hyman would be removed from McDavid’s line.

His shot volume was down last season, likely due to his wrist surgery. He should be fully healthy, so he needs to start ripping the puck more. He got lucky last season because many of his shots found the twine, but that shouldn’t be expected going forward. He had a 19.5 shooting percentage, which was the second highest of his career, despite only taking 159 shots, the fewest as an Oiler, by a wide margin. In his previous four years, he had 213, 276, 290, and 210 shots, respectively. He had a career-high 290 shots the season he scored 54 goals. Good things happen when you shoot the puck, so if he wants to eclipse 40 goals, he needs to shoot the puck more. 230 shots should be the goal.

Worst Case Scenario

With Hyman’s consistency, his worst-case scenario shouldn’t be a significant drop-off. He has high expectations, so anything less than 20 goals and 40 points would be disappointing. His season-low with Edmonton was 27 goals and 44 points in 73 games during 2024-25. Anything worse than that isn’t good enough. If he doesn’t produce at the rate he’s capable of, that puts more pressure on McDavid and Draisaitl to carry the offensive load. The Oilers need Hyman to be a driving force of the offence.