Matthew Savoie Among Four Oilers Unavailable For Start Of Camp
The Edmonton Oilers will kick off training camp with four players sidelined by injury. Those players include forwards Mattias Janmark and Matthew Savoie, defenseman Alec Regula, and goaltender Frederik Andersen per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. The team released a statement confirming the news. Edmonton’s training camp is set to run from September 11th to September 26th, ahead of the start of their regular season on September 29th.
Savoie and Andersen sustained their injuries during off-season training, while Janmark and Regula are still recovering from procedures performed near the end of the 2025-26 season.
Janmark underwent a season-ending surgery in March to address an injury that remains undisclosed. He appeared in just 41 games before falling out of the lineup. He has served an important depth role through four seasons with Edmonton, including a feature role on the Oilers’ penalty kill. The 10-year veteran should return to that spot on the other side of his recovery.
Regula sustained an undisclosed injury just two games into Edmonton’s 2025-26 season and landed on injured reserve for roughly one month. He then spent November through January as a bottom-pair defenseman before missing four more weeks of action with another undisclosed injury in late-January. The Oilers followed that stint with a conditioning loan in the AHL, then waived Regula and reassigned him one week after the loan ended. He finished the season with 29 NHL games and 20 AHL games, a milestone after missing the entire 2024-25 season with a knee injury. While Regula was able to finish the year with the Bakersfield Condors, it seems he will need more than the summer to get back to 100 percent.
New injuries to Savoie and Andersen could limit two of the Oilers’ most anticipated players. Andersen joined Edmonton with a one-year contract signed on July 1st, coming off the first Stanley Cup win of his career. The nearly-37-year-old goaltender gave up his starting role to Brandon Bussi during the postseason but served as the Carolina Hurricanes’ go-to option during the regular season, when he was healthy. He finished the 2025-26 campaign with 16 wins and a career-worst .874 save percentage in 35 games. It was a down year – marked by a concussion, knee injury, and load management throughout the season.
Still, Andersen’s addition in Edmonton is a welcome dose of veteran experience to the Oilers’ goaltending room. He could prove to be a capable backup behind starter Tristan Jarry, and an invaluable mentor to 24-year-old Devon Levi, who Edmonton acquired alongside a 2028 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick. Levi failed to live up to his potential through four seasons in the Buffalo Sabres’ pipeline – though he still performed admirably at the AHL level. He represents an upside bet in Edmonton and could benefit from the guidance of a Cup-winner.
Savoie marks another upside bet after scoring 18 goals and 37 points in his rookie season. He struggled at the start of the year but blossomed in the second-half, scoring nine goals and 19 points in 24 games after Edmonton returned from the Olympic break. That scoring rate would put Savoie on pace for 31 goals and 65 points across a full season. The former top-10 pick thrived after moving from Leon Draisaitl‘s wing, to Connor McDavid‘s wing, and seemed to have a top-line role secured for next season. That could still be the case should Savoie recover in time, though Edmonton provided no details on the nature of his injury.
The likelihood of any of the injured Oilers being available for the start of the regular season should become clearer as training camp progresses. Their first test will come on September 19th, when Edmonton kicks off their preseason against the Winnipeg Jets. The Oilers will face notable holes at the top and bottom of their offense if either Savoie or Janmark can’t begin the year, though they should have enough depth to cover for Regula and Andersen if needed.