It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are absolutely beat up right now. After Trent Frederic got re-injured shortly after making his team debut Saturday, Edmonton is now forced to play the Anaheim Ducks Monday night a man short.
Frederic is just the latest Oiler who has been injured in the past few weeks, including Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Stuart Skinner, and Mattias Ekholm. While all these players are will likely return before playoffs, in the case of Frederic, Draisaitl and Ekholm, three skaters who returned from absences only to exit again shortly after, it raises the question of if they were put back on the ice too quick.
Speaking to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector about Frederic in particular, Oilers GM Stan Bowman defended Edmonton’s medical team Monday, saying that reinjuries are just an unfortunate part of the game.
“Players don’t return to play until they’re more than ready,” Bowman said. “There’s a return to play protocol that is followed by the doctor and the trainers, and you go through those steps. It was almost six weeks (since he was injured) … and we held him out to make sure that we were all totally comfortable. Unfortunately, that’s part of sports.”
Frederic was acquired by the Edmonton Oilers in early March as part of a three-team deal. He originally suffered a high ankle sprain while playing with the Boston Bruins in late February and was expected to be out weeks still when he made his way to Alberta. Playing just over seven minutes in his Oilers debut Saturday, the 27-year-old appears 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.”
A similar case happened with Draisaitl, who missed four games after suffering an undisclosed injury against the Utah Hockey Club on March 18th, then returned for three games, only to exit after 10 minutes of ice time in last Thursday’s contest vs. the San Jose Sharks. With regards to Ekholm, it seems he was struggling with a prolonged illness since January, then suffered an injury in the 4 Nations tournament. After a two-week absence in March, he returned on the 18th, only to sit again four games later, and it is still unclear what the exact lingering issue is.
Add to that McDavid’s absence with a lower-body injury, Stuart Skinner on concussion protocol, and Evander Kane on LTIR, there is cause for concern about this depleted roster heading into the postseason. While Bowman is correct that injuries and reinjuries are an unfortunate part of sports, there are still key questions to be posed about Edmonton’s return to play protocol, and if they are truly protecting their players in the long run. For Bowman’s part, he is sticking by his team and the protocols they have in place to get the Oilers back on the ice only when it is safe to do so.
“These are the same steps that we’d go through in November,” said the GM, referring back to another month of tough injuries to key players, including McDavid and Zach Hyman. “Injured players need as much time as they need, and they will return when the doctors say it’s the right time for them to come back.”
The Oilers have six games left to play in the 2024-25 NHL season. They play the Anaheim Ducks on Monday and will return home later this week for games against the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks.
