Oilers face depth crisis as Savoie and Regula sidelined long-term; Nugent-Hopkins also out

The Edmonton Oilers announced Thursday that forward Matthew Savoie and defenseman Alec Regula have been placed on long-term injured reserve, while center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was placed on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury during Monday's practice. The timing compounds Oilers head coach Mike Babcock's roster challenges in his first week; Nugent-Hopkins was scratched from the season opener Tuesday against Vancouver (a game Edmonton lost in overtime after rallying from down 5-2), while Savoie and Regula were already unavailable for that contest. Forward Josh Samanski was called up from the Bakersfield Condors on emergency conditions to fill the gap.

Nugent-Hopkins' injury window is the most fluid of the three. Babcock believes the veteran center will miss roughly two weeks, which would open a return window for the Oilers' October 8 visit to Anaheim under NHL injured reserve protocols. However, the coach also acknowledged RNH could sit out the team's first six games—a span that extends into mid-October depending on schedule compression. Regula, who last appeared in a game on January 20 of last season while battling an undisclosed injury, must sit out Edmonton's first 10 games minimum. Savoie faces the longest runway: Babcock stated the young winger is "over a month away" from competition, sidelining him through at least the end of October as he rehabilitates an offseason injury. Like goaltender Frederik Andersen, Savoie is working his way back to game-shape after time away from play.

The staggered return timeline reshapes Edmonton's forward-line construction for the next three to four weeks. Samanski, a 24-game contributor last season who posted 2 goals and 4 points as a rookie, carries limited offensive pedigree; his AHL season (8 goals, 31 points in 45 games) suggests depth-line utility rather than impact scoring. With Nugent-Hopkins potentially out through the second week of October and Savoie unavailable until the tail end of the month, Edmonton's middle-six depth will operate below its ceiling during a critical roster-building window. The Oilers' season-opening loss to Vancouver—despite the comeback attempt—already signaled offensive inconsistency; depth injuries will test whether the team can maintain pace in division play.

From a prop standpoint, Edmonton's offensive output faces real friction over the next 10-14 days. The Oilers' team total is likely to settle lower than pre-season projections once books absorb the scope of these absences. Lean unders on Edmonton team totals (check current numbers, but expect 5.5 or lower per game through mid-October) during the depth crisis window. This isn't a fade built on a single outlier game—it's a multi-week structural disadvantage. Once Nugent-Hopkins returns and Regula gains game reps in late October, that edge compresses. But the immediate stretch rewards contrarian positioning against a roster that lost its season opener and is now running a cobbled-together forward group. Samanski's call-up signals emergency-depth usage, not offensive elevation, making Edmonton's scoring output a tactical fade until the LTIR group begins rotating back.