This season, everything good must be balanced out by something bad. And in an injury update provided on Friday morning from Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, that trend has continued. Let’s start with the good. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to return to the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.
Nugent-Hopkins was injured three weeks ago in the 9–1 thrashing at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. He has spent the past two days skating on the third line at practice, indicating the Oilers will be spreading their scoring depth throughout the top nine and easing the longest tenured Oiler back into the lineup.
Now for the bad. Health has been a major concern early on this season, with players coming off of major injuries sustained last season, while plenty of others have already been injured in 2025–26. We already knew about Kasperi Kapanen’s injury. However, he appears to have suffered a setback on Thursday and is now out for an undetermined period while the team waits for an update. Jake Walman, who has been out for the past week, will not return until next week at the earliest.
The biggest update is on forward Jack Roslovic, who will miss the next couple of weeks with an undisclosed injury, reportedly from blocking a shot against the Dallas Stars.
How will these updates impact the lineup?
The Edmonton Oilers have not yet been able to ice a fully healthy lineup in the 2025–26 season. Every time someone returns from injury, another player gets hurt to replace them on the injured list. The return of Nugent-Hopkins will be a much-needed addition of stability and reliability to the team. He had started the season at his best scoring pace since his 100-point season in 2022–23 with 16 points in 16 games before the injury.
Although Nugent-Hopkins has spent the most time as a winger in the top six, he appears to be back as the third-line centre. Though with Roslovic’s injury opening up a spot in the top six, and Knobluach’s propensity to blend the lines constantly, that may not last for long.
While Nugent-Hopkins is on the third line, however, the team can hopefully rely on him to provide an offensive spark, as those lines have been largely stagnant to date.
That brings us to Roslovic. He has been the best forward on the team aside from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Usually, one of the few players creating any pressure or chances. He has 10 goals and 18 points in his 23 games, sitting fourth on the team in scoring. His absence will be a major loss and one that the team is going to struggle with.
Based on how the team has lined up over the past week, this assures both Matt Savoie and Zach Hyman will have space in the top six.
Taking into account Kapanen’s setback as well, it does seem to open up room for Connor Clattenburg to get a longer look in the NHL as well. He has impressed in his two-game debut, but would have likely been sent back down to free up roster space for returning players. He may be looked to to help provide some of the spark that will be missing with Roslovic’s absence.
