Oilers’ Nugent-Hopkins cleared to face Hurricanes

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers activated veteran centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off injured reserve before their game Thursday night against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

Nugent-Hopkins has yet to play this season after sustaining a lower-body injury in practice before Edmonton’s season-opening game.

He joins an Oilers team that is off to a fantastic start.

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Edmonton entered the game against the defending Stanley Cup champions with a 7-1-1 record, and captain Connor McDavid holding a significant lead in the scoring race with 26 points.

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Nugent-Hopkins is in his 16th season with the Oilers after being selected by the team first overall at the 2011 NHL draft.

The forward from Burnaby, B.C., had 20 goals last year — hitting that mark for the seventh time in his career — while adding 36 assists over 72 games.

He entered Thursday’s action with 804 points (291 goals, 513 assists) over 1,031 regular-season games with Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.