Oilers Aren't Getting Hyman Back Just Yet

The Edmonton Oilers have been without Zach Hyman for the entire season thus far and are 5-4-3 on the season. There have already been a ton of line combinations used throughout the lineup this season. When the veteran returns, lines should stabilize a bit, but so should the power play.

Surprisingly, yet unsurprisingly, the Oilers have the third-best power play in the NHL at 30.3%, despite the absence of Hyman. David Tomasek has filled in for him, and although Hyman makes more of an impact on the top unit and in front of the net, this is still the strong spot for Edmonton in an interesting start to the season that has to be better.

Kris Knoblauch confirmed that Hyman will not be ready to go on November 1 as initially thought. He said it will be "at least a week after that," and he is still listed as week-to-week.

The 33-year-old had 27 goals and 44 points in 73 games last season, a pretty big fall from the impact he had offensively the season prior, scoring 54 goals. Hyman has 144 goals and 258 points in 308 games played for the Oilers. In the four years in Edmonton, he has scored 15 power-play goals twice. He logs plenty of minutes and has received votes for the Selke Trophy before in his career as well.

Hyman has excellent chemistry at the top of the Oilers' lineup, something that has generally been missing at 5-on-5 so far this season. While the Oilers are deeper than they have been in the past, more players need to chip in. Hyman has never had that problem and is one of the hardest-working players on the ice, pressuring and turning over pucks while driving to the net. Having Hyman back in the lineup is going to be a big boost for the Oilers, who have to turn things around and play better for more than a game or two at a time.

Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images