Key Oilers defenseman expected to miss extended time

The Oilers won’t have key two-way defenseman Mattias Ekholm available when they begin their first-round playoff series next weekend. He aggravated his undisclosed injury early in Friday's win over the Sharks and could even be ruled out for the season once testing is complete, Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports.

Ekholm had missed seven games with an undisclosed injury before returning against San Jose. Shortly before that, he’d missed six games with an illness. The stalwart Swede has only been available for five games since March 4. They’ve still managed to go 8-5-0 without him, though. It’s unclear when Ekholm sustained the injury against the Sharks, but he left after three shifts and only logged 1:52 of ice time.

There’s a strong argument to be made that Ekholm is Edmonton’s most crucial defenseman at even strength. He’s had another dominant season with his usual partner, Evan Bouchard, controlling 59.5% of expected goals as a pair (per MoneyPuck). When paired with Brett Kulak in Bouchard’s absence, their xG share drops to 57.1%. Offensively, he’s continued to hover above his career average as he has since the Oilers acquired him from the Predators at the 2023 trade deadline. With 9-24–33 in 65 games, he’s tied with Darnell Nurse for sixth on the team (and second among defensemen) in scoring. He’s averaged 22:12 per game, up by over a minute from last year. Most of that increase has come at even strength, although he’s also seen a small bump in his still-minimal power play deployment. He’s still managed seven power-play points (3 G, 4 A) despite averaging under a minute per game with the man advantage.

Even a best-case scenario will keep Ekholm out for “quite some time,” Rishaug writes. Reading between the lines, it’s plausible that Ekholm won’t be able to suit up against L.A. and will likely only be available to help them if they win at least one series without him.

That makes their deadline acquisition of Jake Walman from the Sharks all the more critical. Ekholm was a rock for Edmonton in last year’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, ranking fourth on the team with a plus-nine rating. He contributed 5-5–10 in 25 games and averaged nearly 22 minutes per game, third on the team behind Bouchard and Connor McDavid.

Of course, Walman doesn’t have the 112 games of postseason experience that the 34-year-old Ekholm has under his belt. He’s got just one, coming as a member of the Blues in their first-round loss to the Avalanche in 2021. He’s also missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. With Ekholm’s absence confirmed to be longer-term, it’ll be interesting to see whether Walman gets slotted in top-pairing minutes with Bouchard when he’s ready to return or if he anchors a second pairing while Nurse slots in with Bouchard.