Concern for Oilers Players During 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament

The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is about to begin, and three Edmonton Oilers players are taking part. Connor McDavid will be one of the leaders on Team Canada, while Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson will both be playing for Team Sweden. As the rest of the Oilers rest and recuperate, these three will be playing games and pushing to win the first-ever 4 Nations trophy.

The upside is playing for your country. The downside is the risk of exhausting players who have already played a ton of games in a shortened season. The Oilers will be playoff-bound, and they need all three of these guys to stay healthy. Is there a reason to worry they won’t?

---

---

Mattias Ekholm

Mattias Ekholm is about to play a lot of minutes against top-end competition. He’s not the kind of player who leaves anything in the tank, so asking him to take it down a notch because these aren’t NHL games isn’t realistic. An injury on a blocked shot or a tweak somewhere would be extremely problematic for the Oilers.

Ekholm is the veteran heartbeat of their blue line. He’s the calming presence that allows Evan Bouchard to do what he does. If Ekholm is out for any length of time, the Oilers need to find a replacement, and if he misses any playoff time, Edmonton would have big issues.

Team Sweden has a solid defense, so the hope is that Ekholm isn’t playing 25 or 26 minutes per night.

Viktor Arvidsson

Losing Viktor Arvidsson might not sting as much as losing Ekholm or Connor McDavid, but he’s the kind of player that performs in big games, has a motor that is useful in the postseason and was signed to be a key part of what the Oilers want to do in the playoffs. The concern for Arvidsson is that he’s already a bit injury-prone.

Arvidsson has played in 40 NHL games this season. He has seven goals and 18 points. The hope is that this tournament gets him going, and if he produces here, he’ll come back motivated and start producing more for the Oilers. If he doesn’t do much for Team Sweden, an already down year might get even bleaker.

Connor McDavid

Does it even need to be said what an injury at the 4 Nations to McDavid would do to the Oilers’ hopes in the playoffs? This is a knock-on-wood, cross-your-fingers, and hold-your-breath situation for Edmonton. Every hit, every slash, trip, or crosscheck will be wincing material for Oilers fans, and because this isn’t an All-Star Game, there will be hitting and rough stuff.

Not only that, but Team Canada will run McDavid out there at every major opportunity, thus increasing the odds that something will happen.

And, if the best-case scenario happens and McDavid walks away from this tournament completely healthy, energy levels have to be a concern for Edmonton as the season winds down. He’s not a player the Oilers rest until they absolutely have to. Outside of Nathan MacKinnon, he plays the most minutes of any forward at the tournament per game at 22:12.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: 4 Nations Face-Off, Oilers, Canucks