The Edmonton Oilers are now going to be preparing for life without forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a while, it appears, as the former 1st overall pick in the Entry Draft is now slated to be out indefinitely with a hand injury after Monday night's game against the Florida Panthers.
Nugent-Hopkins left the game in the 2nd period after blocking a Dmitry Kulikov shot with his hand and when he was able to get off the ice to finish his shift, he was done for the night.
There isn't any firm timeline on this injury, just as of yet, but the Oilers coaching staff is suggesting that this will be a long-term injury and one could draw some immediate comparisons to the injury suffered by Montreal's Brendan Gallagher, which kept the scrappy forward out for just over a month.
The 22-year old has been good for the Oilers this season, picking up 8 goals and 30 points in 46 games with the club this year, finishing Monday night in 93rd (coincidentally) in the overall pool rankings. With the Pacific Division being the way it is, the Oilers have a shot at the playoffs, but without Nugent-Hopkins for a while and Connor McDavid not expected back for another couple weeks, things could get tough.
For Stacey C., this injury could very well dry up all hope he has had for any sort of comeback, because it is going to be tough to replace Nugent-Hopkins, if he does at all, at the Waiver Draft and his team doesn't really have a shot at the mini-games as well. A very unfortunate season.
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