Kris Knoblauch reveals every player the Oilers will be missing for Game 1.

The Edmonton Oilers will not be at full strength at the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Monday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch revealed that several members of the Oilers roster would be absent for the start of the playoffs when he gave a full update of the injuries on his roster. Of course much of the focus here was on the bad news, so I will begin there.

When asked about the status of trade deadline acquisition Trent Frederic, Knoblauch all but confirmed he was likely to miss the start of the playoffs. Knoblauch suggested that Frederic could possibily return at some point early in Round 1, which makes it seems like he will miss time.

Veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm will miss all of Round 1 but that news will come as little surprise given the terrible update regarding his injury that came down over the weekend.

It sounds like the Oilers could also be without defenseman Troy Stecher who was listed as day to day by the Oilers head coach, although a day to day designation does suggest that he may be a possibility for the start of the playoffs. That being said the other side of the coin is that his absence could extend even beyond Game 1.

The status of forward Zach Hyman also appears to be in question with Knoblauch not committing one way or the other, only saying that Hyman may be ready for the start of the playoffs.

While that is a lot of bad news it wasn't all bad for the Oilers who did get some confirmation regarding some key players that will be in the lineup. Star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are both ready to go, forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is also expected to play, and defenseman Jake Walman will also be in the lineup for Game 1 in spite of the fact that all of these players have dealt with injuries as of late.

It does sound like the Oilers will need to win at least a few games before they can get everyone back and healthy, which in the Stanley Cup playoffs is always easier said than done.

On a final note, the status of forward Evander Kane remains unclear and it sounds like he is still awaiting medical clearance from doctors before he can officially return to action.