The return of Zach Hyman to the Edmonton Oilers lineup should be a welcome one. The former 50 goal scorer always leaves a hole when he misses time, and even though this time the team won most of its games without him, that absence was still felt. Missing since the beginning of the season, Hyman has been skating all week, and word is he feels ready to play hockey.
Hyman missed the start of the 2025-26 season as well, recovering from the injury he took against the Dallas Stars in the previous postseason, but after returning, he managed 31 goals in 58 games played. That's 0.53 goals per game, or an average of about a goal every second game. That added scoring might have turned the tide in the first matchup against the Utah Mammoth, or at least allowed the Oilers to force overtime and snatch a single standings point.
Line juggling
There will be some question as to where Hyman slots in immediately. Surely he'll end up on the first powerplay and somewhere within the top six, but Vasily Podkolzin has been doing a very good job as a stand in on the powerplay, and with Hyman's injury, he might not be all the way up on the strategy envisioned by head coach Mike Babcock. It's a great problem to have, moving players because both are producing.
Babcock may opt to split up McDavid and Draisaitl more often, giving each more talent on the wing, while also reducing their overall ice time. The Oilers coach admitted he overplayed the two of them in the first matchup of the back to back. But that's not the only benefit of Hyman's return.
Forward pressure
The Oilers are playing a lot more dump and chase hockey in 2026-27 than they have in past seasons. That's a strategy that surely reduces neutral ice turnovers, and goals against as a natural result. But the issue with dumping the puck into the opposing zone is that you've given up direct possession. Few in the league are better at driving in and getting the puck back after a dump-in than Hyman.
Not only will Hyman's presence increase those recoveries, the example he sets and how he times his rushes, should serve as a great tool to teach the younger players on the roster like Owen Michaels and Isaac Howard, how it's done. It may take Hyman a game or two to really get his legs up to speed, but if he does find himself on the PP1, then his first goal of the season likely isn't far away.
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