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Edmonton Oilers close to getting Nugent-Hopkins back from injury

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Oct 20 2026, 4:42 pm
Edmonton Oilers close to getting Nugent-Hopkins back from injury
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The Edmonton Oilers are healing, slowly but surely.

October has been injury-riddled for the Oilers, who still haven’t iced their full lineup through the first eight games of the season. Despite that, the team has flourished, posting one of its best starts in franchise history, going 6-1-1 and looking dominant at times.

That bodes well as more premier players return to the lineup.

Zach Hyman returned Saturday against the Utah Mammoth, scoring his first goal of the season, and now all eyes are on when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will make his season debut.

Head coach Mike Babcock hasn’t revealed a clear timeline for the longest-tenured Oilers player, but GM Stan Bowman seemed optimistic a return could be coming very soon while talking to 880 CHED’s Bob Stauffer on Monday.

“I think both Dickinson and Nugent-Hopkins are gonna play on the home-stand, whether it be the first game or two, or towards the end, I don’t know yet,” Bowman said. “They’re both trending well, looking good, and we’d love to get them back.”

Bowman also said Jason Dickinson is expected to play in the upcoming five-game home stand, which will get underway on Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild and finish up on Oct. 28 against the Calgary Flames.

Nugent-Hopkins looked healthy in the preseason, playing in two games and recording three assists. He also fully participated in training camp but was suddenly unavailable for the team’s home opener against the Vancouver Canucks. Not much has been said about the exact issue the veteran forward is dealing with, but it’s been bad enough to keep him out of the first eight games of the season.

The injuries to RNH and Dickinson have hurt Edmonton’s centre depth, especially with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line. That has created some depth-scoring issues, but it hasn’t affected the team’s overall performance, as the wins have kept coming.

Nugent-Hopkins is expected to pivot the Oilers’ second line when he returns and could potentially line up with Hyman, while the top line stays as is. He was rotating in that 2C spot during Monday’s practice, with Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen as linemates.

As for the longer-term injuries, Bowman revealed that both Matt Savoie and Frederik Andersen will remain out a bit longer.

“Matt Savoie is still a couple weeks away, whether it’s two weeks or four weeks, I don’t know that,” Bowman said. “Freddy Andersen, he’s further away than Savoie. Don’t really have a timeline on him.”

These injuries had the potential to cripple the Oilers early on, but they’ve managed to find a way to the top of the NHL standings. Once players return, expectations are that they’ll remain one of the league’s most dangerous teams.

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