While there is no denying that the Florida Panthers are an elite team, one can’t help but wonder how much closer this year’s Stanley Cup Final could have been if the Edmonton Oilers were healthier. They were, of course, without one of their best offensive forwards in Zach Hyman for the entirety of the series, but that was far from their only injury.
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Days after the Cup Final had commenced, the Oilers confirmed that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had been playing through a broken hand. What they have yet to come out with, however, is what exactly the injury was that was bothering Mattias Ekholm.
Ekholm was forced to miss a significant stretch of time to close out the 2024-25 regular season and wasn’t able to return until Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. It became evident right away that he was still nowhere near 100 percent health, which makes sense given that he was forced to sit out for so much of the postseason.
Though Ekholm’s quick stats of a goal and five assists through his seven playoff outings suggest he was very good, those who tuned in realize he was far from it. While he did have a few solid games, there were plenty more, specifically late in the Cup Final, where it was clear he was still very banged up. Not only was he struggling against the Panthers’ stars off the rush, but he had some uncharacteristically bad giveaways, which fans haven’t seen from him during his time in Edmonton.
Could This Be the Start of a Downfall?
Though Ekholm was undoubtedly injured in the Cup Final, there is reason to be concerned that this could also just be a player who is no longer capable of playing the heavy and hard minutes he has since arriving in Edmonton during the 2022-23 season.
While Ekholm was a force on the back end during the 2023-24 campaign, his play had dipped prior to his injury during the 2024-25 regular season. By no means was he bad, but he wasn’t the elite, top-pairing defenceman he had been throughout the vast majority of his career.
Some will point to it simply being an off season for the Swedish blueliner, but the fact of the matter is that he is 35 years old. Many players begin seeing a drop in play well before that age, especially ones that play the game as hard as he does.
Ekholm Still Has Plenty of Value
The reason that it may make sense for the…
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