Edmonton Oilers forward Jason Dickinson suffered a setback in his recovery from a lower-body injury this week, leaving him unlikely to be ready for Tuesday’s season opener against the Vancouver Canucks, head coach Mike Babcock said Friday.
Dickinson has been dealing with the same injury that bothered him during last spring’s playoffs. Babcock told reporters the issue flared up again after an encouraging stretch of practices.
“It’s the same thing from the playoffs. He tweaked it. Thought it was coming good, but yesterday was a tough day,” Babcock said. “I don’t really know what’s going on there. I know that he’s had a setback.”
The 30-year-old centre will sit out Edmonton’s preseason finale against the Calgary Flames on Saturday at Rogers Place, and Babcock would not commit to a timeline beyond calling the setback “more short-term than long-term.”
“When you keep having these setbacks, it’s hard,” Babcock said. “If you can’t fly, it’s hard to play. So someone else gets an opportunity.”
Dickinson signed a five-year, $20-million contract with the Oilers in June and was expected to slot in as a bottom-six centre with a defensive-zone focus, a role general manager Stan Bowman prioritized after last season’s playoff run. His absence to open the year pushes the Oilers to lean on their remaining depth at centre, with Trent Frederic, Colton Dach and NCAA signee Owen Michaels among the players who could see an expanded role if Dickinson starts the season on injured reserve.
The Oilers open their season with a home-and-home against the Canucks on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1. Edmonton is 3-0-0 in preseason play heading into Saturday’s finale, having beaten the Winnipeg Jets in overtime and the Canucks 2-1 earlier this week behind strong showings from several of the club’s younger prospects.
The injury update was first reported by Michael Menzies of Oilersnation and corroborated separately by The Hockey News.
