Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais has a broken finger from fight with Colorado’s Josh Manson

With less than a minute left in the second period, a scrum broke out with the two players in front of Edmonton’s net. Looking more like a D1 wrestling match than a hockey fight, Desharnais and Manson only threw a handful of punches, but the result was Edmonton’s rugged defender left for the locker room and didn’t return to the ice for the rest of the game. 

After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said that Desharnais didn’t play the third period because there “could be” an injury.

Desharnais had made impressive strides this season, going from a fringe NHL’er in 2022-23 to a quality bottom-pairing defenceman who can kill penalties. In fact, his hard work has been noticed by the Oilers coaching staff, as he has been playing alongside Darnell Nurse on the second pairing, while Cody Ceci has moved down to play alongside Brett Kulak.

Thankfully, Oilers general manager Ken Holland traded a 2027 fourth-round pick in exchange for Troy Stecher, who has played 488 games in the NHL throughout his career. This season, the 29-year-old had a goal and five points across 48 games and has logged an average of 18:20 per game. 

Stecher is a capable defenceman, so the Oilers aren’t in hot water by any means, but it’s still an unfortunate injury to a player who is becoming more important by the game. Hopefully, Desharnais doesn’t take too long to recover and he’s back at full strength come playoff time.