Oilers place Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on IR, activate Kyle Turris

The Edmonton Oilers have performed a roster swap of sorts, moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to injured reserve in order to activate veteran forward Kyle Turris, as per a team announcement.

Nugent-Hopkins has already been on the shelf for about a week with an upper-body injury suffered on February 26 against the Florida Panthers, causing him to leave the game after just three shifts. It’s his second injury-related absence this season after a lower-body injury kept him out for most of January.

Turris, who has just a goal and three assists in 22 games this season, has played just one game since January 5. He subsequently entered COVID protocol, played one game and then suffered an undisclosed injury that’s sidelined him for around a month.

With Nugent-Hopkins still out of the mix for a little while yet, the team will need to rely more on wingers such as Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele to up their production. Yamamoto has especially lagged in the points department this season, notching just 11 goals and nine assists in 53 games despite getting consistent top-six usage.

As the Oilers have been icing 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the past while, though, it’s a natural fit for Turris to potentially get his feet back under him with some game action.