Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Out Two Weeks

The Edmonton Oilers will begin the season with a shorthanded lineup. Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sustained an injury in practice that will force him out for roughly two weeks, head coach Mike Babcock told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Nugent-Hopkins will join forwards Matthew Savoie and Jason Dickinson on the sidelines, leaving Edmonton with multiple holes in their top-six.

Without Nugent-Hopkins and Savoie, superstar Connor McDavid will be down two of his usual wingers from the 2025-26 campaign. Isaac Howard is likely to move into a top-line role to fill Nugent-Hopkins’ spot opposite of Zach Hyman. That promotion would leave Vasily Podkolzin next to Draisaitl on Edmonton’s second-line, though newcomer Alex Formenton could also cycle into the vacated top-six role.

No replacement will match the consistent impact that Nugent-Hopkins brings to the lineup. He has been a sure bet to fall behind Edmonton’s superstars in scoring, finishing top-five on the team in points in every season since 2016-17. Each season has been marked by at least 50 points – or, in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, a 55-point scoring pace – though Nugent-Hopkins also posted a career-high 104 points in the 2022-23 season. On top of routine scoring, the 2011 first-overall pick has also averaged 42 shot blocks, 55 hits, and 841 faceoffs per season over his 15-year career in the NHL.

Few players are as steady in the lineup as Nugent-Hopkins, making his absence a heavy blow to the start of Edmonton’s season. A two-week absence would force Nugent-Hopkins out of five games, assuming he is ready to return to Edmonton’s October 7th matchup against the Anaheim Ducks.

Until then, the Oilers will have to lean on Podkolzin and Howard to hold up their top-end. Podkolzin has blossomed in Edmonton, recording 24 points in his first season as an Oiler, then climbing to 19 goals and 37 points last year. He has proven to be reliable in top-six minutes and could be the favorite for added special teams minutes without Nugent-Hopkins. Howard is still searching for that breakout after scoring just five points in 29 games of his rookie season last year. The former Hobey Baker Award-winner scored an encouraging 24 goals and 50 points in 47 AHL games last season. That could provide strong momentum as he prepares for a feature role next to McDavid to start his second pro season.