Oilers place Zach Hyman on LTIR, recall David Tomasek from AHL

The Edmonton Oilers have placed left winger Zach Hyman on long-term injured reserve and recalled right winger David Tomasek from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, the team announced Tuesday, hours before the official start of the 2025-26 NHL season.

Hyman, 33, lands on LTIR as he works his way back from a major wrist injury sustained in the 2024-25 Stanley Cup playoffs. During Game 4 of the Oilers’ Western Conference Final matchup with the Dallas Stars, Hyman dislocated his wrist after taking a hit from then-Stars left winger Mason Marchment. The collision ended Hyman’s season, holding him out from the rest of the Dallas series, which the Oilers won in five games, and the Stanley Cup Final, which the Oilers lost in six games to the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the previous season’s Final.

Hyman required surgery the repair the injury and spent the offseason rehabbing it, but he isn’t expected to be game-ready until some time in November. Hyman’s absence will sting for an Oilers team that already lost forwards Corey Perry, Evander Kane, Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown and Derek Ryan over the summer. Since signing with Edmonton in 2021-22, Hyman has scored 144 regular-season goals, 17^th-most in the NHL, and his 35 postseason goals over that span place him second in the league.

The Oilers’ rejigged top-six forward group will include grinder Trent Frederic manning the right wing alongside superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Tomasek, 29, will get his first look in the NHL. The Czech forward led the SHL, Sweden’s top league, in scoring last season and was named MVP.

The Oilers open their season Thursday at home to the Calgary Flames and will hope to start the Battle of Alberta strongly without Hyman. Last season, a slow start cost him a roster spot on Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, while his belated debut in 2025-26 could damage his odds of making the team for the 2026 Milan Olympics.