Zach Hyman sensed something was wrong.
The Edmonton Oilers forward was hit by Mason Marchment of the Dallas Stars in the neutral zone immediately after releasing the puck in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.
Hyman immediately dropped his stick, left the ice favouring his right arm, and headed straight to the locker room.
Having been a key player in their previous run to the Stanley Cup Final, the determined forward will now have to watch his team`s second attempt to win hockey`s top prize.
Hyman, wearing a cast on his right arm due to a dislocated wrist, spoke to reporters hours before Game 1 of the Final against the Florida Panthers.
The 32-year-old, who led the playoffs with 111 hits at that point, described the play where his season ended.
“I felt my wrist give way,” Hyman said, confirming bone fractures and ligament damage. “Even then, you still hope you can play through it, or there`s a chance. But I quickly realized after seeing the doctors that it needed surgery and I wouldn`t be able to play through it. I think I was still in denial, thinking I could play, until after the surgery… I was emotional in that moment.”
“It didn`t fully sink in until later,” he continued. “Then you sort of get your head around it. Some things in life you can`t control, and this is one of them.”
While recovering at home in Edmonton after the operation, his teammates video-called him from the visitors` locker room in Dallas after their Game 5 win secured their spot in 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 feel so much a part of the team. For them to do that in that moment meant a lot.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch stated that the team will miss Hyman both on and off the ice.
“We`ll just have to move forward,” he said. “We`re going to need other guys to step up, whether that`s scoring goals or making hits, making plays.”
The hardworking winger, who scored a combined 70 goals in the 2023-24 regular season and playoffs, mentioned that captain Connor McDavid was the first teammate to console him immediately after the injury.
“It breaks your heart,” said Hyman, who had five goals and six assists this spring. “He gave me a big hug. Honestly, that`s when I broke down.”
While the Oilers were relatively healthy for most of the 2024-25 season, avoiding major injuries like muscle tears or broken bones, a wave of issues hit late, with key players like McDavid, Hyman, Leon Draisaitl, and Mattias Ekholm missing time.
Ekholm, a top-pair defenseman alongside Evan Bouchard, returned for Game 5 against Dallas after a significant absence due to a lower-body injury.
Last June, following their Game 7 loss to Florida in the previous Final – after they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force a winner-take-all game – Hyman delivered a memorable speech to his teammates, promising they would return.
And they did return. However, Hyman will not be participating in the action.
“Life has a funny way of working,” he remarked. “Most of our guys came back, and I knew we had the hunger and drive to get back to this point, and not just to 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 different roles.”
“I`m looking forward to cheering the guys on. We`re here, and we`re ready.”
Duncan Priestley