Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Zach Hyman showcased his tremendous leadership in the toughest moments of the Oilers’ season, picking his teammates up immediately after losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It was a hard-fought 7-game series from the Edmonton Oilers, who battled back from a 3-0 series deficit to Florida in the Stanley Cup Finals, forcing a deciding Game 7 in Florida. However, despite a resilient effort, the Oilers fell short of the ultimate goal, tasting defeat instead of victory, much to the disappointment of the players, coaches and staff in Edmonton, who had an entire country behind them.

In the moments immediately after the loss, captain Connor McDavid didn’t leave his teammates to head back out onto the ice to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy after an historic run, but it wasn’t the captain who did the talking in the moments following the toughest loss of the team’s career. It was former Maple Leaf Zach Hyman.

Hyman had been through the ringer with the Maple Leafs, losing year after year in the first round of the playoffs, but he had never tasted a defeat like this one, but instead of holding his head in his hands and remaining silent, Hyman showed his true character, ignoring his own pain for a moment to pick those around him up, emphasizing that he wanted the whole band back together this coming season. A true showing of leadership.

Hyman wasn’t just all talk either, as he put his money where his mouth was last season, producing a career high 54 goals last season, en route to a 77-point season. He also put forth a 16-goal, 22-point effort for the Oilers in the postseason, trying to will his team to win.

The Oilers did suffer some losses this summer, like most teams, but also added a few very solid pieces to the fold, including Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, and prospect Matthew Savoie. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, they’ll emerge from the West again for another kick at the can in 2024-25.