Connor Brown injury presents another issue for Oilers
By Paul Taylor
Connor Brown left Thursday night’s game with an apparent lower-body injury, which could add to the Edmonton Oilers’ ever-growing list of problems.
Not many could have predicted the Edmonton Oilers’ terrible start to the 2023-24 season. Little is going right so far, with the issues only growing as a result of Thursday night’s 4-3 home loss to the Dallas Stars.
With the defeat, the Oilers find themselves stuck on just five points, tied for the second-worst total in the NHL. In addition, the team may have suffered another injury loss during the contest versus the Stars.
The Oilers have already experienced more than their fair share of injury issues this season, including Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm and Markus Niemeläinen. All three impacted the roster makeup in different ways.
Tough break for Brown
Now, the Oilers may well have to do without the services of Connor Brown. He was forced to leave Thursday night’s game with an apparent lower-body injury.
The injury seemed to occur during the second period, when Brown pushed off following a faceoff. He did not return for the remainder of the game.
Afterwards, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was unable to provide any more news on the nature of the injury. Pending an update from the organisation, there will be speculation about what the issue is and how serious it might be.
Understandably, there is the question of if the issue is related to the 29-year-old’s previous anterior cruciate ligament injury. He was limited to four games last season, after undergoing surgery.
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More roster issues for the Oilers
Brown has struggled to find any form so far in 2023-24, accentuated by not even recording a single point through the first nine games. Regardless, the timing of the apparent injury would be tough for both player and team alike.
From the forward’s perspective, he only needs to play one more game to activate a $3.225 million bonus. As for the Oilers, any absence could leave them even more short-handed, given their precarious position.
Thanks to a tight salary cap, the Oilers are only carrying 21 of a possible 23 players on their roster. (As per CapFriendly, just $382,760 cap space at the time of posting.) They are already without Mattias Janmark, albeit his status is listed as day-to-day as opposed to anything more serious.
Regardless, if Brown is indeed injured, he cannot be sent down to the AHL for the duration of said injury. As a result, there is a scenario where the Oilers will conceivably only have 10 forwards and 17 skaters available for Saturday’s home tilt with the Nashville Predators.
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Admittedly this is a worst-case scenario; the flip side has the possibility Janmark could be back, combined with potentially recalling someone from the AHL. However, until we know more about Brown’s injury status, this is yet another perceived setback for an Oilers team which is struggling to get on track.