Zach Hyman Is One Reason the Oilers Haven’t Fallen Apart
There’s a certain kind of player you start thinking about more when things aren’t quite perfect, and the Edmonton Oilers Zach Hyman is one of them. When everyone’s healthy and rolling, he can fade a little into the background—not because he isn’t effective, but because players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl naturally pull your attention. That’s just the reality of star power in the NHL.
But take Draisaitl out of the lineup, like the Oilers are dealing with now, and suddenly you start to notice the glue guys a lot more. The players who keep plays alive, who turn almost-chances into something real. That’s where Hyman lives, and right now, Edmonton needs plenty of that.
Hyman has put up seven goals and 10 points in his last 11 games.
He’s producing, no question—seven goals and 10 points in his last 11 games—but it’s the way he gets those goals that stands out this time of year. Hyman doesn’t make a living off highlight-reel shots. He works around the net, in tight, taking punishment, digging for rebounds, getting to pucks a half-second quicker than the next guy. It’s not pretty, but it’s repeatable, and that matters when a team is missing one of its elite offensive drivers.
Nobody’s asking Hyman to replace Draisaitl. That’s not realistic. But he can help make sure the offence doesn’t stall, especially alongside McDavid, where his job is less about creating magic and more about finishing it and keeping the cycle alive.
If anything, Hyman is better when the games get tighter.
What also shows up with Hyman is a kind of steadiness that becomes more valuable as the games get heavier. At 33, he’s been through enough of these stretches to understand how quickly things can swing and how tight the margins get. And he doesn’t really change. The game tightens, space disappears, emotions run a little higher—and Hyman just keeps playing the same way. There’s something calming about that, especially for a team that leans heavily on skill. You need players who don’t get pulled into the chaos, who can be trusted to give you a predictable, honest shift, and he fits that description.
Then there’s the way he plays, which sounds simple but isn’t. Hyman works every shift. Every puck battle. He finishes checks, wins races he probably shouldn’t, and stays engaged in plays that other players might drift away from. Over the course of a game, that starts to spread. It’s not dramatic, and it won’t show up in a highlight package, but you can feel it if you watch closely. One solid shift leads to another. A puck gets chipped out instead of turned over. A line spends a few extra seconds in the offensive zone. This time of year, those little details start to matter more.
Hyman isn’t the engine of the Oilers—that’s still McDavid.
Hyman isn’t the engine of the Oilers—that’s still McDavid—and he’s not the game-breaker that Draisaitl is. But he might be the piece that keeps things from wobbling when something important is missing. That kind of value is easy to overlook until you actually need it. And right now, the Oilers do.
The Oilers don’t need Hyman to be anything other than who he is. He doesn’t need to carry the team. They just need him to keep doing what he’s been doing—going to the hard areas, finishing plays, and keeping things steady when the game tightens up. It’s not glamorous, but at this point in the season, it’s pretty close to essential.