EDMONTON — Zach Hyman knew something wasn't right.
The Edmonton Oilers winger had just released the puck crossing his blue line in Game 4 of the Western Conference final when Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment caught him with a glancing blow in the neutral zone.
Hyman dropped his stick and immediately skated off, favouring his right arm before heading straight to the locker room.
After being a key part of last year's run to the Stanley Cup final, the heart-and-soul forward will have to watch his team try and climb hockey's mountain a second time.
Hyman spoke to reporters in the hours before Game 1 of the title series Wednesday — a rematch against the Florida Panthers — sporting a cast on his right arm for a dislocated wrist.
The 32-year-old, who leads the playoffs with 111 hits, described the moment his season ended.
"I just felt my wrist kind of go on me, and even then you still think, whatever it is you'll be able to play through it or there'll be a chance you can play through it," said Hyman, who confirmed he also suffered bone breaks and ligament damage. "But quickly realized when I saw the doctors, it's something that needed surgery and something that I wasn't going to be able to play through. I think I was still delusional, I could play through it until after the surgery … emotional in the moment.
"I don't think I fully grasped it until later, then you kind of get your head around it. Some things in life you can't control, and this is one of them."
Recovering on his couch in Edmonton following the procedure, his teammates FaceTimed him from the visitors' locker room in Dallas after winning Game 5 to clinch another trip to the final
"It meant the world," said Hyman, who added he expects to be ready for training camp in September. "It caught me off guard. I was crying. It was really emotional. You just feel so much a part of the team. For them to do that in that moment meant a lot."
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said his group will miss Hyman on and off the ice.
"We're just going to have to move on," he said. "We're going to need other guys to step up, whether that's scoring goals or making hits, making plays."
The grinding winger, who combined for 70 goals in the 2023-24 regular season and playoffs, said superstar captain Connor McDavid was the first teammate to console him in the moments after his injury.
"You're heartbroken," said Hyman, who had five goals and six assists this spring. "Gave me a big hug. Honestly, that's when I broke down."
The Oilers were fortunate on the injury front last season in making it all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final against the Panthers. They also largely dodged torn muscles, injured joints and broken bones in 2024-25, but the floodgates opened late in the schedule with McDavid, Hyman, centre Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Mattias Ekholm all missing time.
A top-pair defenceman alongside Evan Bouchard, Ekholm returned for Game 5 against Dallas after a long absence with a lower-body injury.
Hyman gave a memorable speech to his teammates last June in the wake of Edmonton's Game 7 loss to Florida after the Oilers battled back from a 3-0 deficit to force a winner-take-all finale. He promised the group would be back.
That's exactly what happened. Hyman just won't be part of the action.
"Life has a funny way of working," he said. "Most of our guys were coming back, and I knew we had a hunger and a fire to get back to this point. And not just get back, but to win. Our team this year has been the ultimate example of a team ... guys stepping up at different times, guys filling in different roles.
"Looking forward to cheering the guys on. We're here and we're ready."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
