This in from Tony Brar of Oilers TV, Edmonton’s new line and d-man pairings on Friday, with rugged forward Trent Frederic not on the ice after leaving Thursday’s game vs Florida in the second period.
• Frederic not on the ice.
Savoie – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – RNH – Kapanen
Jones – Dickinson – Roslovic
Samanski – Henrique – Jarventie
Lazar
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Murphy
Walman – Stastney
Emberson
Ingram/ Jarry
Gene Principe of Sportsnet reported that coach Kris Knoblauch spoke about Frederic after Friday’s practice: “Trent is out with an injury and I don’t have a timeline.”
My take
1. On Frederic’s final shift at the end of the second period he wiped out while forechecking, falling to one knee. After that he got up and continued to skate around, but when he left the ice, he never returned.
This is bad luck for the Oilers forward, who has finally rediscovered his “A” game and is at last playing solid, aggressive two-way hockey for the Oilers.
If this is a significant injury, it’s a major blow to both Frederic and the Oilers, who could use his size and aggression now that he’s moving better again.
2. Frederic played poor hockey in the 2025 playoffs, then was signed to an eight-year deal at $3.85 million per season, a move that widely criticized around the league. Oilers fans were left hoping that the team’s management had seen something in Frederic in Boston that justified his trade and new deal, because his playoff performance provided no such thing.
The questions around Frederic and his deal grew louder and more angry in the first 40 games of this season. He was as weak as he’d been in the playoffs. Things got so bad that he was sent to the pressbox to watch a handful of games.
But starting in early January, Frederic’s play started to pick up. In the past 30 games, he’s become more agile, more aggressive, more able to hit and to make plays. He’s starting to look like a solid third-line winger, who brings a lot of toughness and some amount of skill to the game.
You can see this in his Grade A shots plus-minus at even strength, which was horrid at the start of the year, the worst of any forward on the Oilers by far, but has now shot up to where it’s apparent Frederic deserves more ice time.
But now this.
One can hope it’s not serious, but Knoblauch’s statement does not bring hope.
Oilers trends
3. Other players trending up in the past 10 games? Mattias Ekholm is on a tear at even strength, playing his best hockey as an Oiler. Matt Savoie continues to raise his game and has played like an elite NHL winger at even strength these past ten games. Max Jones is making a huge positive impression just now. Jack Roslovic has his swagger back on the attack, helping to create all kinds of Grade A shots.
4. Trending down? The McDavid line with McD, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been down a quart, so little wonder that coach Kris Knoblauch split them up. The usually consistent Hyman has been in a mini-slump by his standards, as has McDavid, by his standards.
Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique are also struggling to get the job done just now.
On defence, Darnell Nurse is trending down again, while Spencer Stastney and Jake Walman have been a mess the past 10 games.
5. To bring some relief, the Oilers should call up another d-man, possibly Alec Regula, to pair with Walman.
At the Cult of Hockey
‘Did Knoblauch watch the same game?’: Oilers fans turn on Edmonton coach after hard loss to Panthers