I’ve been watching Edmonton Oilers hockey since the WHA days, and have been blessed to witness some of the greatest talents in the game over the last 50+ seasons. The Oilers are a fairly recent expansion addition (the NHL was a 17-team league before the Oilers arrived in 1979-80) and by any measure have enjoyed incredible fortune when it comes to acquiring elite talent.

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe and others delivered a decade of elite results in the 1980s.

Today’s Oilers shine brightly, too, led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. After that, there are talented players such as Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who deliver considerable skills every night.

In the Stanley Cup Final and over the first 19 games of this season, the Oilers were without their top winger, who has turned puck pursuit into an art form. Zach Hyman has returned, and he was missed.

In his first game back, Hyman played over 21 minutes at five-on-five, picking up an assist and delivering 10 hits and two shots on goal. The only thing missing was high-danger chances, but Hyman delivered three of those in his second game of the season.

Combined with his power-play time, Hyman is averaging over 22 minutes per game with the Oilers. His early deployment highlights the lack of forwards who are trusted by the Oilers coaching staff at five-on-five.

Excluding Hyman, who has played in just two games, there are exactly six members of the forwards depth chart who have played over 12 minutes per game at five-on-five: McDavid (17:39), Draisaitl (16:37), Jack Roslovic (15:21), Vasily Podkolzin (15:12), Andrew Mangiapane (13:25) and Nugent-Hopkins (13:16).

Kris Knoblauch is coaching every game as if it were a playoff contest. McDavid’s 17:52 in the 2025 postseason is close to his current total for early regular-season games. Why is this happening?

It speaks to a couple of things: a lack of confidence in the third and fourth lines and absolute belief in the team’s top talent. Hyman is a vital cog in the machine, and we’ll see how much he can impact the game in the months to come.

Immediate help

For much of his Edmonton career, Hyman has been a five-on-five demon — offensively, in outscoring and on the forecheck. Much of his line’s offence comes from turnovers and rushed passes by the opposition. His offence since arriving in Edmonton, combined with goal share, has been exceptional, but there are signs of erosion:

YearPts-60Goal Share

2021-22

1.97

47

2022-23

2.37

55

2023-24

2.53

64

2024-25

1.67

55

2025-26

1.5

50

All numbers five-on-five, via Natural Stat Trick

Hyman’s outscoring was outrageous in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. However, his contribution to the offence fell off in 2024-25, and at age 33, Hyman could be approaching the wall as an offensive performer.

Edmonton badly needs Hyman to deliver a strong scoring season. The coaching staff eschewed a slow-walk start to his NHL season due to the veterans’ inability — including Trent Frederic and Mangiapane — to deliver on McDavid’s line.

Mentor

Hyman is listed at 6 feet 1, 206 pounds, but appears larger due to his tenacity in puck pursuit. He is currently running with McDavid and rookie Matt Savoie on the top line, and could be an ideal mentor. Savoie is 5-10, 179 pounds, so he won’t have the same physical impact, but he does possess a similar non-stop motor and desire to win puck battles.

It’s a secondary consideration for the Oilers in terms of this season’s priorities, but Hyman could help Savoie’s progress as a forechecker over the coming months. Sometimes the torch is passed before the young player is ready, and Hyman has two more years under contract after this one. It’s possible he doesn’t play on the top line in all of those seasons, and Savoie is one of the candidates to replace him in time.

Joining the fray

One of Hyman’s skills is getting opponents off their game. His ability to drive the Dallas Stars to distraction in the spring was a component in the Oilers’ third-round series win. Hyman hits everything that moves and keeps on going. That means the opponent reaction is dialed up, and soon every line and pairing has its head on a swivel and is more engaged.

One of the main criticisms of the Oilers so far this season has been the flaccid approach to the physical aspect of the game. Edmonton has thrown more no-hitters this season than any in memory, and it isn’t because it owns the puck a majority of the time.

Hyman’s style is ideally suited to bringing the game to the opponent. If names like Frederic and Podkolzin follow, this Oilers team will enjoy another wrinkle that makes them difficult to play against for NHL teams.

Bottom line

The Oilers welcomed back Hyman and put him straight to work on the McDavid line. He responded with an assist and 10 hits at five-on-five in the first game.

There are some concerns. His production fell off in 2024-25, and the Oilers badly need a strong offensive season from the top winger on the club. His foot speed (via NHL Edge) was 88th percentile in 2024-25 and is under 50 percent in the early days of this season. It’s unfair to use such a small sample as clear evidence, but it’s something to follow as the season rolls along.

Hyman appears to be the player of old in many important areas. He still arrives at the puck intent on winning possession, has no fear and seems to thrive on irritating opponents. He’s a refreshing player to watch because his effort is never in doubt and fans can always count on an intelligent game.

The worries as he ages are offence and durability. Given the Oilers’ coaching staff is so hesitant to use other right-wingers on the roster, it’s possible Hyman plays the rest of the season with McDavid, no matter his individual scoring success. Hyman has returned to a much different team than the one he played for in the series against Dallas last spring.

Oilers fans hope he can deliver in all areas, but they can count on the veteran to put the pedal to the metal. That’s all he’s ever done in an Oilers uniform.