Official update on Leon Draisaitl and Trent Frederic.
Kris Knoblauch shares an official update on 2 big injuries for the Edmonton Oilers.
It was a mixed bag for fans of the Edmonton Oilers on Monday with head coach Kris Knoblauch sharing both good and bad news when it comes to some key injuries for the Edmonton Oilers.
The good news of course was the return of star forward Leon Draisaitl to the ice, a positive sign to be sure, but when it comes to Draisaitl returning to the ice for actual games the news wasn't quite so good.
"Leon will not play tonight," confirmed Knoblauch definitely.
While it was good to see Draisaitl back in action despite the fact that he will not play when the Oilers take on the Anaheim Ducks later tonight, the news regarding trade deadline acquisition Trent Frederic appeared to be much more concerning. Knoblauch's comments made it sound like we are not likely to see Frederic back in the lineup before the end of the regular season.
"He's doing alright," said Knoblauch somewhat unconvincingly. "He didn't play very much, things flared up right from the first shift the other night. We feel that he will be fine and be ready for playoffs but an immediate return is not going to happen."
The Oilers gave up forward Shane Lachance, defenseman Maximus Wanner, a second round pick in 2025 and a fourth round pick in 2026 as part of a 3 way deal to acquire Frederic with the maximum amount of salary retained possible, and unfortunately it now seems that they may not even so much as get the chance to integrate him into their lineup ahead of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Frederic's appearance against the Los Angeles Kings was the only appearance he's made for the Oilers since the trade and it was not a performance that inspired confidence. Despite only playing 7 minutes and 10 seconds during that entire game, Frederic would finish the contest with no points and a plus minus rating of -2. Of course the fact that he is still dealing with an injury was unquestionably a factor, but it remains to be seen how healthy Frederic will be when the Oilers deploy him in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
You can see Knoblauch's full comments from today in the short clip below:
