It’s good news. The kind the Oilers desperately need. Nugent-Hopkins was off to a hot start before getting hurt, posting five goals and 16 points in 16 games. Getting him back gives Edmonton added depth they’ve been missing for weeks.Except there’s a catch. While Nugent-Hopkins was getting cleared to play, Jack Roslovic — the one forward who’s been consistently excellent all season — is out for multiple weeks after blocking a shot by Tyler Seguin against Dallas.

“(Roslovic) will be out a couple of weeks, we’re not anticipating him back anytime soon,” confirmed Kris Knoblauch.

That’s brutal timing. Roslovic has been the best free agent signing in the league this season with ten goals and 18 points in 23 games. Nine goals and 14 points in his last 16 games alone. He’s been exactly what the Oilers needed, and now he’s gone right when they need him most.

Getting Nugent-Hopkins back helps, but it doesn’t replace what Roslovic brings.

“He does a lot of things,” Knoblauch said of Nugent-Hopkins. “He’s a tremendous teammate. We’ve had players joke that he’s my favourite player, but Ryan’s a very smart, complementary player who you can rely on in the last minute of a game. He can provide some offence. He is an important part of the power play. He makes it run just by getting the puck in the right spots.”

That’s exactly right. Nugent-Hopkins is steady, reliable, smart with the puck. He makes everyone around him better without necessarily showing up on the scoresheet. But he’s also coming off a nine-game absence, so expecting him to immediately fill the offensive void Roslovic leaves isn’t realistic.

The Oilers practiced Friday with Nugent-Hopkins centring the third line between Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique. Curtis Lazar is also returning from injury and will be in the lineup. That’s two bodies back, which gives the team depth.

But depth doesn’t replace production. And right now, Roslovic is the production this team can’t afford to lose.

The injury situation gets worse. Kasperi Kapanen, who was supposed to return Saturday, re-aggravated something in practice Thursday and stormed off the ice, frustrated. He’s now week-to-week. Jake Walman is progressing from a blocked shot injury and might be back next week, but there’s no guarantee.

At no point this season have the Oilers iced a lineup with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Roslovic all healthy. That’s the group they need to compete. Instead, they’re constantly shuffling bodies and trying to find chemistry on the fly.

Getting Nugent-Hopkins back matters. He’s been part of the Oilers’ core for over a decade. He knows how to play winning hockey. He elevates the power play. He can take defensive zone draws late in games. He’s the kind of veteran presence a struggling team needs.

But this isn’t just addition. This is addition with immediate subtraction. The Oilers get one key player back and lose another—arguably their most important forward over the past month.

Saturday’s game in Seattle kicks off a critical stretch. The Oilers have one game left in November before starting a five-game homestand in December. Minnesota visits Tuesday, then Seattle again on Thursday, followed by Winnipeg, Buffalo, and Detroit. If there’s a time to string together wins and climb back into the playoff race, this is it.

Nugent-Hopkins gives them a better chance to do that. He’s a stabilizing force, a player who does the little things that help teams win games. But he’s also coming back cold, trying to find his rhythm in a lineup that’s still missing one of its best performers.

Lines and Pairings

Savoie – McDavid – Hyman

Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Mangiapane

Henrique – RNH – Janmark

Frederic – Lazar – Clattenburg

Ekholm – Bouchard

Nurse – Regula

Kulak – Emberson

Skinner

Pickard

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