The Oilers Are Already Playing Salary-Cap Jenga

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The Oilers Are Already Playing Salary-Cap Jenga

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Old Prof | Last updated Oct 1, 2026 1:55 PM ET

We’re just getting started, but the Edmonton Oilers are already dealing with a serious injury situation. Three players are now dealing with significant injuries, with Matt Savoie and Alec Regula landing on LTIR and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going on injured reserve. Now the team has to find ways to cover their absences.

Player One: Alec Regula

Alec Regula’s recovery will keep him out a while longer. He’s been moved to long-term injured reserve after missing the entire preseason while coming back from offseason surgery. Since he has already missed one game, he’ll be unavailable for at least nine more. Edmonton hasn’t offered a specific return date, so it’s probably best not to expect him back right away.

Regula might not be the biggest name on Edmonton’s roster, but losing depth early in the season can create problems quickly. Injuries have a funny way of spreading their impact. One defenseman goes down, another player has to take on more minutes, and suddenly the coaching staff asks everyone to do a little more than planned.

Player Two: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

The most concerning injury for the Oilers is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He couldn’t play in the season opener against Vancouver because of a lower-body injury, and Edmonton has now placed him on injured reserve. He’s expected to miss about two weeks, which is a relief compared with a longer absence. But the Oilers still won’t be able to replace everything he brings. Nugent-Hopkins had 20 goals and 36 assists in 72 games last season while playing more than 19 minutes per night.

He’s not an easy player to replace. Nugent-Hopkins can play up and down the lineup, contribute on special teams, handle tough minutes, and quietly make a lot of things work. When he’s missing, the Oilers don’t just lose points. They lose flexibility.

Player Three: Matt Savoie

Then there’s Matt Savoie, who has also been moved to long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Savoie played all 82 games as a rookie last season, scoring 18 goals and adding 19 assists. He is expected to miss at least the first couple of weeks, and while that may not sound like a disaster, it removes another young forward from the mix as the team tries to build depth behind its stars.

While the Oilers Get Some Salary-Cap Relief, They’ll Miss Key Players

The one small positive is that the LTIR moves give Edmonton some salary-cap relief. But cap flexibility is only useful if the team can stay competitive while waiting for its players to return. Edmonton’s depth is being tested almost immediately, and the Samanski recall is the first little test of whether that depth can absorb the damage.

For now, the Oilers need to survive this stretch without letting a few injuries become a much bigger story. The good news is that Nugent-Hopkins should be back relatively soon. The bad news is that the season is already testing Edmonton’s depth before the team has had much time to settle in.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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