If two years of watching the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/edmonton-oilers/line-combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> and the Florida Panthers battle in the Stanley Cup Final has taught us anything, it&#8217;s that a playoff run will leave you battered and bruised. At the end of last season, it was <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-mattiask-ekholm-still-top-pairing-defenceman">Mattias Ekholm</a> feeling the pain after returning from injury for the final game of the Western Conference Final, then grinding through the Cup Final against the Panthers.

Speaking to the media ahead of Edmonton&#8217;s training camp on Friday, the veteran defender is finally sharing the nature of the injury that kept him out of play for the latter part of the 2025-26 season and a good chunk of the playoffs.
<blockquote>&#8220;I had a torn abductor,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1964024503585157364">Ekholm said</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s a tough injury when you&#8217;re trying to skate.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Swedish defenceman managed six points in seven playoff games, but didn&#8217;t appear to be at full strength as the Oilers fell to the Panthers in six games. Addressing his play through the Final, Ekholm said it&#8217;s hard to quantify his level of health, but he conceded that it was an uphill battle against the nagging injury.
<blockquote>&#8220;It was tough just because you&#8217;re more out there to survive than maybe creating something or actually playing your game,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1964024503585157364">Ekholm said</a>. &#8220;The first couple of games, you&#8217;re so mentally into it, and then after a couple of games, I wouldn&#8217;t say you lose it, but it becomes more normal again. It was definitely a challenge that I&#8217;ve never had before in my career. &#8230; but no excuse for it, I decided to play.&#8221;</blockquote>
It wasn&#8217;t the end to the year Ekholm and the Oilers wanted, but now that&#8217;s all in the past. With training camp for the 2025-26 campaign set to kick off this month, the focus is on the upcoming season, and the 35-year-old blueliner says he&#8217;s feeling much better than before.
<blockquote>&#8220;I feel great, I feel a lot better,&#8221; Ekholm said. &#8220;Nice to get some time off. Came here about two and a half weeks ago, I&#8217;ve been skating, and yeah, I feel great.&#8221;</blockquote>
Ekholm is entering the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/more-questions-than-answers-edmonton-oilers-potential-extension-mattias-ekholm">final season of a four-year contract</a> originally signed with the Nashville Predators before being traded to Edmonton. After being limited to 65 regular-season games and seven playoff games last season, the Oilers are looking for a full season from their blueline leader.

If two years of watching the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/edmonton-oilers/line-combinations">Edmonton Oilers</a> and the Florida Panthers battle in the Stanley Cup Final has taught us anything, it's that a playoff run will leave you battered and bruised. At the end of last season, it was <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-mattiask-ekholm-still-top-pairing-defenceman">Mattias Ekholm</a> feeling the pain after returning from injury for the final game of the Western Conference Final, then grinding through the Cup Final against the Panthers.



Speaking to the media ahead of Edmonton's training camp on Friday, the veteran defender is finally sharing the nature of the injury that kept him out of play for the latter part of the 2025-26 season and a good chunk of the playoffs.
<blockquote>"I had a torn abductor," <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1964024503585157364">Ekholm said</a>. "It's a tough injury when you're trying to skate."</blockquote>
The Swedish defenceman managed six points in seven playoff games, but didn't appear to be at full strength as the Oilers fell to the Panthers in six games. Addressing his play through the Final, Ekholm said it's hard to quantify his level of health, but he conceded that it was an uphill battle against the nagging injury.
<blockquote>"It was tough just because you're more out there to survive than maybe creating something or actually playing your game," <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1964024503585157364">Ekholm said</a>. "The first couple of games, you're so mentally into it, and then after a couple of games, I wouldn't say you lose it, but it becomes more normal again. It was definitely a challenge that I've never had before in my career. ... but no excuse for it, I decided to play."</blockquote>
It wasn't the end to the year Ekholm and the Oilers wanted, but now that's all in the past. With training camp for the 2025-26 campaign set to kick off this month, the focus is on the upcoming season, and the 35-year-old blueliner says he's feeling much better than before.
<blockquote>"I feel great, I feel a lot better," Ekholm said. "Nice to get some time off. Came here about two and a half weeks ago, I've been skating, and yeah, I feel great."</blockquote>
Ekholm is entering the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/more-questions-than-answers-edmonton-oilers-potential-extension-mattias-ekholm">final season of a four-year contract</a> originally signed with the Nashville Predators before being traded to Edmonton. After being limited to 65 regular-season games and seven playoff games last season, the Oilers are looking for a full season from their blueline leader.

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