Bruised and limping, the Edmonton Oilers crawled towards the Stanley Cup playoffs, punching their ticket in the final week of the regular season. Injuries to Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Jason Dickson, and Colton Dach threatened to derail the season for a minute there. But that’s when Connor McDavid decided to put his hero’s cape on and put together a Hart Trophy-contender of a season to drag the Oilers into the playoffs.
With Connor McDavid currently on a prove-you-can-build-a-contender-around-me deal, this edition of the Stanley Cup playoffs are particularly significant for the Oilers, and with the postseason upon us, it looks like reinforcements are on the way for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Insider Indicates Earlier-Than-Expected Return for Edmonton Oilers’ Jason Dickinson
Acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline, Dickinson has quickly proved himself pretty useful to the Oilers. Stan Bowman took cognizance of Edmonton’s burning roster need at the time, a reliable third-line center, and delivered. Combined with McDavid and Draisaitl’s impact, 30-year-old Dickinson gives the Oilers an edge that many other NHL teams are arguably lacking.
However, Dickinson is currently sidelined with a leg injury from a blocked shot during the Oilers-San Jose Sharks showdown on April 8. The forward needed to be helped off the ice. While Draisaitl and Hyman participated in practice skates wearing grey jerseys, Dickinson did not, triggering concern about his timely return.
However, in the latest turn of events, Jason Gregor has shared on social media that the 30-year-old is eager to return to the ice. A first-round comeback that was previously deemed unlikely does not entirely seem so any longer.
“As for Dickinson… I was told he is ‘highly motivated’ to play. Took the shot off his ankle in San Jose and it will come down to pain threshold and when he can get on the ice. A return in the first round seems plausible,” Gregor shared on his X profile.
On his podcast a few days ago, Gregor toyed with the possibility of whether Dickinson’s injury is worse than suspected. “I think they don’t know…because you got some swelling, and we saw Jake Walman earlier in the year, which they originally thought was just a bone bruise, and then…turned out to be a hairline fracture. So maybe it’s the same thing here with Dickinson.”
Fortunately for the Oilers, the 30-year-old seems to have evaded the worst this time. He is expected to play a critical role in the playoffs, and while Knoblauch had stated that, till Dickinson is back, Joshua Samanski will be expected to fill in his shoes, the latter is not experienced enough for the Oilers to be stretching their luck, especially with postseason games at stake.
Besides Dickinson, Draisaitl is also desperate to join his team for the playoffs. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug shared that the star forward came in early for testing and had been hard at practice since. “Draisaitl was on early doing some testing. Took the optional with the other skaters and is now on late working on some shooting and board play. Looks like a guy doing everything he can to be ready,” Rishaug shared on his social media.Â
Edmonton is most likely to face the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.
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