Questionable updates on McDavid and Draisaitl in Edmonton
Fans are following every little update on the Oilers lineup changes. Get the latest below:
The Edmonton Oilers are beat up and even if general manager Stan Bowman knows it’s part of the sports, it does not make it any easier for his team at the end of the regular season and heading into the playoffs. However, Wednesday’s update on some of his star players might.
At practice on Wednesday, the Oilers announced that three of their injured stars, captain Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Mattias Ekholm are considered day-to-day with undisclosed injuries and expected to return before the end of the regular season.
As for goalie Stuart Skinner, who is on the sideline with an upper-body, he has a chance to return on Friday against the San Jose Sharks.
While this is all exciting news for the Oilers and their fanbase ahead of the postseason, it also raises the question of if they could be put back on the ice too quick, especially with what happened to Trent Frederic.
Frederic was acquired from the Boston Bruins in early March as part of a three-team deal and made his Oilers’ debut on Saturday. He however just played seven minutes as he seemed to have re-aggravated his ankle issue. Speaking about the injury, Bowman said, “It doesn’t appear to be very serious. I don’t have an update on timing at all … but it does not appear to be serious.”
The same could be said about Draisaitl, who had missed four games after suffering an undisclosed injury against the Utah Hockey Club on March 18th, only to return for three games to exit again after 10 minutes of ice time in last Thursday’s contest vs. the Sharks.
I can understand why the Oilers want to get players back as soon as possible with McDavid’s absence with a lower-body injury, Skinner on concussion protocol, and Evander Kane on LTIR. As Jason Gregor pointed out, there is currently $42.2m of cap space in Edmonton’s infirmary…
However, the team has to know they need their best players in top shape for the postseason, and so this update could worry fans if McDavid, Draisaitl and Ekholm return before the end of the calendar only to exit again when the Oilers need them the most…
