The Edmonton Oilers still have a couple of forwards on the shelf following their miniature bye week.
According to Tony Brar of Oilers TV, the team will be without Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman when they play back-to-back games against the Utah Hockey Club and Colorado Avalanche on Friday and Saturday. Arvidsson has been ruled out for Edmonton’s three-game road trip while Hyman might be available when the Oilers play the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Arvidsson last played on November 12 against the New York Islanders and has been out with an undisclosed injury since then. The Oilers finally placed him on the Injured Reserve over a week later but didn’t provide any specific updates about what Arvidsson is dealing with.
The native of Skelleftea, Sweden signed a two-year, $8 million contract with Edmonton in the off-season following a campaign with the L.A. Kings that was limited to just 18 games because of a back injury. Between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the skilled winger scored 46 goals and 108 points over 143 games for the Kings. The hope for the Oilers was that Arvidsson’s back issues were behind him and he would return to that previous level of production, but the 31-year-old has only five points in 16 games so far this season.
Hyman last suited up on November 19 against the Ottawa Senators. He left that game before the start of the third period and didn’t return. The Oilers haven’t placed Hyman on the Injured Reserve and they also haven’t given any information about the specifics of the injury.
After scoring a career-high 54 goals and coming close to an NHL record with 16 goals in the playoffs in 2023-24, Hyman is off to a slow start offensively this season. The gritty winger has three goals and eight points through 20 games, which is well below the pace he’s scored at since arriving in Edmonton on a seven-year, $38.5 million contract back in the summer of 2021.
With both Arvidsson and Hyman unavailable last game, the Oilers put the newly-acquired Kasperi Kapanen up on the top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins while Connor Brown moved to the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin. Drake Caggiula was called up from the American Hockey League last week and suited up in Edmonton’s last two games. He returned to the AHL while the Oilers were on their break and was brought back up again on Thursday before the road trip.
