The bad news continues to come for the Edmonton Oilers who are looking to pick up the pieces after a rough start to their 2025-26 season, as it was announced on Monday that the team would be without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for at least a week with an undisclosed injury.
The injury comes following a 9-1 beat down by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and as the team prepares for a Monday night affair with the Columbus Blue Jackets in Edmonton.
Nugent-Hopkins, 32, has been a key role player for the Oilers over the past number of seasons, especially during their back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023-24 and 2024-25. So far this season, the veteran forward has five goals and 16 points in 16 games for the Oilers and sits third on the team in scoring behind Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
In 975 regular season games, Nugent-Hopkins has accumulated 276 goals and 764 points for the Oilers, spanning over parts of 15 NHL seasons. He’s seventh on the franchise’s all-time list for points and second all-time in games played.
With the roster move, the Oilers also activated Mattias Janmark who has yet to play in a game this season for the team. While the fresh legs will be nice following one of their biggest losses in recent memory, the loss of Nugent-Hopkins will surely be noticed over the next seven days.
