Hyman felt 'helpless' during Cup Final, hopes to be on ice for Oilers on opening night

TORONTO -- Zach Hyman did not want to set a date for his return from a dislocated wrist, but the Edmonton Oilers forward is optimistic he'll be available when the 2025-26 regular season begins.

"That's definitely not out of the question," Hyman said Monday at the sixth annual Zach Hyman Charitable Golf Tournament at Oakdale Golf & Country Club. "I haven't set a date or anything like that.

"Once you set a date, you get disappointed if you don't play on the date. I hope to play on opening night."

Hyman sustained a dislocated wrist and tore multiple ligaments when he took a hit from then-Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on May 27. The injury required surgery, which he had in early June, keeping him out of the series-clinching Game 5 against the Stars and all six games in the Oilers' loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

"It was hard in the Final not being able to help, you feel helpless," Hyman said. "It's not common to be watching, especially in games like that where you want to be involved.

"I got a feel for it as a manager almost from the top, which was not fun. Watching those games was super stressful. When you are playing in it, you are not stressed at all, you're just playing."

It was the second-straight season the Oilers lost in the Cup Final to the Panthers, falling 2-1 in Game 7 in 2024 after overcoming a 3-0 series deficit.

It took the Oilers some time to recover from that loss, losing their first three games of the season and going 6-7-1 through their first 14 before finishing third in the Pacific Division (48-29-5).

Hyman, who had 44 points (27 goals, 17 assists) in 73 games last season, and 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, said the focus will be on having a better start this season.

"I think this year was a little different," he said. "We will go into this coming year with a little bit more motivation. The first year was pretty heartbreaking, going down 3-0, coming back all the way and then losing a tight one in Game 7. I think this one we will be able to get going right away."

Edmonton lost forwards Corey Perry and Connor Brown via free agency. Perry, 40, who was second on the Oilers with 10 goals in 22 playoff games, signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings, and Brown, 31, who had nine points (five goals and four assists) in 20 games, signed a four-year, $12 million contract ($3 million average annual value) with the New Jersey Devils.

The hope is that forward signings Andrew Mangiapane (Washington Capitals) and Curtis Lazar (Devils) will be able to offset the departures of Perry and Brown. Mangiapane signed a two-year, $7.2 million contract ($3.6 million AAV) on July 1 and Lazar, a one-year $775 000 contract July 2.

"You want to bring everybody back every year and run it back every year, but this is the nature of sports," Hyman said. "I'm going into my eleventh year, so it's always sad to see teammates go, but you realize this is what happens in sports. But we will miss those guys a lot."

"We definitely are familiar with Mangiapane having played in Calgary for a long time. Just a feisty player, plays with a competitive edge and can score goals and isn't afraid to get in the corners and win puck battles."

The Zach Hyman Charitable Golf Tournament had already raised $500,000 this year with proceeds going to Stollery Children's Hospital, UJA Federations of Toronto and Alberta, SickKids Hospital, the Brantford Bulldogs Foundation and the Edmonton Oilers Foundation. Since its inception, the tournament has raised close to $3 million.

"Raising money for the charities we do, that's something I'm extremely proud of," Hyman said. "It's not easy to run an event like this and to be able to do it for a sixth year is pretty special. It's a family event, we all do it together, all my brothers. It's my name behind it but really it's a family event and we have such incredible volunteers who support and help every year. Without them this event wouldn't be possible. So many things go into it and I'm just kind of the figurehead of it. There's so many people who do so much work so I'm really proud of everything they do for the tournament."

Understandably, he left his golf clubs at home Monday.

"It's probably a good thing I'm not golfing, my swing is not the greatest and I haven't had much time to practice so it's good timing on that sense but I'm feeling good," Hyman said. "Still wearing the brace but getting it off in the next couple weeks which is great. Still in the recovery phase but I'm looking forward to getting on the ice and getting going when I can."