Seth Jarvis and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Are Set to Debut as the Hurricanes Visit the Oilers Thursday

Two of the most productive forwards to miss the start of the 2026-27 season are lined up to return on the same sheet of ice Thursday night. Seth Jarvis was activated by the Carolina Hurricanes from the injured non-roster list on Wednesday and is in line to make his season debut at Rogers Place, and Oilers coach Mike Babcock confirmed after Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over Minnesota that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will play his first game of the season against Carolina. Puck drop is 9 p.m. ET.

The timing is not subtle. Carolina (8-2-1) has won eight of its last nine games without its leading goal scorer from last season, and Edmonton (7-1-1) leads the league in points percentage while playing most of the year without its longtime second-line center. Both contenders get a meaningful piece back for a game that already projected as one of the best matchups on Thursday's slate.

The news

Jarvis had surgery in June to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder, an injury that came shortly after the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. The original recovery estimate was four to six months, so a return in late October puts him at the early end of that window. To open a roster spot, Carolina recalled Skyler Brind'Amour from AHL Chicago and reassigned Bradly Nadeau to the Wolves. Coach Rod Brind'Amour stopped short of a firm commitment, saying only that Jarvis is getting closer, but multiple outlets reported he is expected to play.

Nugent-Hopkins was hurt in late September before the regular season began, was placed on injured reserve Oct. 1 and missed all nine Edmonton games. He practiced with the team this week, and Babcock's confirmation removes the guesswork.

Where Jarvis fits in Carolina's lineup

Reports on Jarvis's role conflict, which matters for fantasy managers deciding how fast to activate him. At Wednesday's practice, per NHL.com's status report, he skated on a line with Jordan Martinook and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, which is a third-line look. NHL.com's Oilers game preview, by contrast, expects him on the top line and the top power-play unit. The most likely reading is a soft landing at even strength with power-play time as the real tell, which is how a player coming off three-plus months of shoulder rehab is typically eased back.

Carolina has not needed him to win. The Hurricanes beat Vancouver 6-3 on Tuesday behind two goals each from Nicolas Deslauriers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Logan Stankoven, with Jackson Blake adding three assists. Stankoven now has six goals, five of them against Vancouver. Jarvis does not need to carry the offense; he only needs to add a shooting threat to a power play that already moves the puck well.

The return also pushes someone down. Brind'Amour's son Skyler projects as a depth center, and a forward who has been riding second-unit power-play minutes is the likeliest to lose time once Jarvis is fully integrated. Watch Blake's and Stankoven's usage over the next week.

Nugent-Hopkins and the Oilers second line

Edmonton has been the league's highest-scoring team at 4.56 goals per game, and almost all of it runs through the top line. Connor McDavid has 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in nine games, a season-opening point streak that made him the fastest player in NHL history to 20 assists. Leon Draisaitl has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists), and Vasily Podkolzin has been riding with both of them.

The problem has been behind them. NHL.com projects Nugent-Hopkins as the second-line center, and Edmonton's media coverage has him between Zach Hyman and a rotating left wing; earlier in the week he split practice reps at center with Colton Dach. That slots Dach back into a third-line role and gives Hyman a center who can actually get him the puck. Nugent-Hopkins also has a long history on Edmonton's top power-play unit, and if he reclaims that spot it is a direct boost to the unit that already scored three times on five chances Tuesday.

Nugent-Hopkins enters with 804 career points (291 goals, 513 assists) in 1,031 regular-season games, all with Edmonton, and he is seven games from passing Kevin Lowe for the franchise record in games played. He has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last eight games against Carolina.

Fantasy fallout

Jarvis: If he was dropped or stashed in an IR slot, activate him now in standard leagues. A 32-goal scorer on a contender is a must-roster player once healthy, even with a cautious opening week. The power-play assignment is the swing factor; a top-unit role makes him a starter immediately in category leagues, while a third-line, second-unit role means one or two games of patience. In daily fantasy, his projected minutes are uncertain enough that he is a tournament play rather than a cash-game lock.

Nugent-Hopkins: He should be rostered in all 12-team leagues, and his value rises sharply if he lands on the top power play. In points leagues, a center skating between Hyman and anyone useful on the NHL's most dangerous offense is a reliable weekly starter. Zach Hyman is the secondary winner: a more competent center should lift his shot and power-play volume.

Who loses: For Edmonton, Dach's ceiling drops with a move down the lineup. For Carolina, the depth forward who absorbs Jarvis's power-play return is the one to watch, and deep-league managers who added a hot Hurricanes depth scorer should be prepared to sell before the minutes disappear.

Goalies: Neither team had confirmed a starter as of Thursday morning. Pyotr Kochetkov is 6-0-0 after making 14 saves Tuesday in Vancouver, and because he started Tuesday, a Yahoo Sports preview projected Brandon Bussi to start in Edmonton. For Edmonton, Devon Levi made 27 saves Tuesday and is 5-1-0 since the Oilers acquired him from Buffalo on July 1; he has held the crease ahead of Tristan Jarry. Wait for confirmation before locking in either side in DFS.

Betting angle

Books opened this one close to a coin flip. Reported moneylines have Carolina as a slight road favorite, ranging from about -109 to -125 depending on the book, with Edmonton near even money. The total sits at 6.5 at most outlets, and Carolina is +200 or thereabouts on the -1.5 puck line.

Both returns are already in the number, since each was reported Wednesday. The more useful angle is special teams. Edmonton went 3-for-5 on the power play Tuesday and adds a veteran power-play forward, while Carolina has been one of the league's better penalty-killing teams through 11 games. If Nugent-Hopkins reclaims his spot on the top unit, Edmonton player props tied to power-play points (McDavid, Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard) carry the clearest upside. The goaltending matchup is the swing factor for the total: a Bussi start against the league's highest-scoring offense leans toward the over, and late goalie news could move the line.

The two teams split last season's series, with Edmonton winning 4-3 in overtime in Raleigh on Nov. 15 and Carolina winning 6-3 in Edmonton on March 6.

What's next

Thursday is Carolina's fourth game of a five-game Western swing and its last stop in Canada on the trip. The first thing to check is Jarvis's power-play deployment and total ice time; a number in the high teens with top-unit reps would end any debate about where to slot him for the weekend. For Edmonton, the line combinations at warmups will show whether Nugent-Hopkins centers Hyman and whether Babcock moves him onto the top power-play unit right away.

Fantasy managers should treat both players as active starters starting Thursday, with the caveat that the first game back after a long absence often comes with managed minutes. The more important projection is the next two weeks: two productive veteran forwards returning to two of the league's best teams makes both offenses deeper than their current numbers suggest.