Hyman hasn’t played since Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars. In the first period of that game, he had a collision with Mason Marchment, now of the Seattle Kraken. He didn’t return and missed the remainder of the postseason as he required surgery to repair a dislocated wrist.

The absence of Hyman was felt in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, as the Oilers were outplayed in all six games against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. A big reason was because of a lack of physicality, something that Hyman would have offered.

Like the two seasons before, the Oilers have started the 2025-26 season slowly, a reason being the absence of Hyman, a top-six forward. The good news is that he’ll likely be back in the lineup on Saturday, as the Oilers sent down Ike Howard and waived Troy Stecher.

The question is, what could the lines look like when Hyman returns and the Oilers are fully healthy?

First Line

Connor McDavid will be the centre of line one, but his linemates are yet to be determined. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has missed the past two games, but should be healthy in the next week or so. He’s an option to play alongside McDavid on the left wing. He and McDavid have a ton of minutes playing with Hyman, so that is one option.

It isn’t the ideal option, though. Matthew Savoie has done more than enough. Since the Oilers’ 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 28, Savoie has earned 52.96 percent of the expected goal share during five-on-five action, second on the team for players who’ve played in those nine games.

Savoie has played alongside McDavid for about 35 minutes over the past three games, with the duo accounting for 55.56 percent of the goal share and 53.49 percent of the expected goal share in those three games during five-on-five play. Without Andrew Mangiapane in those games, they have 80 percent of the goal share and 64.99 expected goal share in five-on-five play.

Moreover, Savoie has experience playing on the left wing, meaning that a trio of him, McDavid, and Hyman may be the way to go.

Second Line

By using a first line of Savoie-McDavid-Hyman, it would free up Leon Draisaitl to fill in as the team’s second line centre. Unlike the first line, there isn’t much of a discussion as to who’ll play alongside him.

Since the Oilers acquired Vasily Podkolzin in the summer of 2024, he’s played a ton of minutes beside Draisaitl during five-on-five play. In total, the pair has played 544:49 minutes during five-on-five play the last two seasons, with the duo earning 60 percent of the goal share and 61.05 percent of the expected goal share.

Draisaitl and Jack Roslovic have found instant chemistry playing alongside one another. In 52:34 minutes this season, the duo has earned 60 percent of the goal share and 52.22 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five play. Roslovic has been a rare bright spot this season, as he has five goals and 12 points in 17 games.

The trio has already played over 100 minutes together this season, outscoring the opposition seven to two for a 77.78 percent goal share in five-on-five action. It’s worth noting that their expected goal share of 46.56 percent isn’t great. Nor is the fact that they’ve given up 23 high-danger scoring chances to generating just 14 high-danger scoring chances. That said, until the real results start to skew more towards the bad side, this line should be kept together.

Apr 27, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman (18) checks Los Angeles Kings defensemen Mikey Anderson (44) during the third period in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Third Line

As of now, Nugent-Hopkins is out of the lineup, meaning that Adam Henrique has filled in as the Oilers’ third-line centre. Henrique has been off to an okay start this season, scoring two goals and six points in 19 games, with a 31.25 goal share and 51.21 expected goal share during five-on-five play this season.

He’s played either left wing or centre this season, which will work well when Nugent-Hopkins returns in the coming days. The two have played nearly 22 minutes during five-on-five action this season, with the duo earning 74.36 percent of the expected goal share, giving up one high-danger scoring opportunity as opposed to giving up just one high-danger opportunity. That said, the duo have given up three five-on-five goals and has yet to score one of their own.

At some point, their luck will turn around, but the big question is whole their winger will be. Mangiapane is the obvious answer, as you’d have to imagine he has to play somewhere in the Oilers’ top nine.

The trio has played just under two minutes together, giving up a goal, not a great start. Mangiapane has played alongside Nugent-Hopkins all season, but the duo has 30 percent of the goal share and 45.33 percent of the expected goal share in the 126 minutes they’ve played this season. In the 13 minutes Mangiapane and Henrique have played with one another, they have 56.27 percent of the expected goal share, but have been outscored 1-0.

The third line is definitely the most worrisome of the four lines; you just have to hope that Mangiapane can find a way to perform sooner rather than later.

Fourth Line

Assuming the first three lines are Savoie-McDavid-Hyman, Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Roslovic, and Henrique-RNH-Mangiapane, that leaves six players who could potentially fill in the bottom line, seven if you count Ike Howard.

We won’t count Howard in this article because he’s currently in the minors, but the Oilers have one line to fill in Trent Frederic, Noah Philp, Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, David Tomášek, and Kasperi Kapnanen. It’s worth noting that Kapanen is currently injured, but more on that in a bit.

As poorly as Frederic has performed this season, he’s in the first season of an eight-year deal worth $3.85 million annually, so he has to be in the lineup. Why’d the Oilers sign this contract? I have no idea, but hopefully he can find his feet in the second half of the season as he’s coming back from a high ankle sprain.

This season, Frederic has 38.46 percent of the goal share and 41.84 percent of the expected goal share during five-on-five play. In fact, this is a problem for all six players who could potentially play on the fourth line.

The best of the bunch has been Lazar, who has 50 percent of the goal share and 56.24 percent of the expected goal share during five-on-five play, the latter actually leads the Oilers (albeit in just seven games). Every other player of the six has a goal share and an expected goal share below 50 percent.

Philp has 27.27 percent of the goal share and 35.46 percent of the expected goal share. When healthy, Kapanen has 33.33 percent of the goal share and 42.93 percent of the expected goal share. Tomášek has 22.22 of the goal share and 40.88 of the expected goal share during five-on-five action this season. In his three games, Janmark has a team-worst 28.68 percent expected goal share in 34:09 minutes, but has yet to surrender or score a goal during five-on-five action this season.

All of this is to say that the Oilers have to mix-and-match players with Frederic until they find a fourth line that works. Still, this is an area they should be looking to upgrade come the trade deadline. For the sake of argument, I could see the current fourth line being Janmark-Frederic-Philp.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.