The Edmonton Oilers will face the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night, but they won't have Zach Hyman on the ice.

Hyman suffered a season-ending injury in the West Finals against the Dallas Stars and had surgery the next day. That being said, he's there to support his team, and Hyman revealed to the media before the series opener that McDavid was the first one to console him following the injury.

Via Chris Johnston:

Hyman also spoke on how disappointed he is to miss the Cup Finals, but he's realized it's fully out of his hands.

Via Pierre LeBrun:

“Some things in life you can’t control, and this is one of them,” Hyman said.

Hyman went down in Game 4 of the Stars series, immediately exiting the game. He had to get surgery the next day to repair his wrist. His absence is a major blow to the Oilers because Hyman is truly a workhorse for this group.

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At the time of the injury, the veteran led the playoffs in hits with 109, which surpassed his career-best in the regular season. He did it in only 14 games — not an 82-game span. Hyman was a physical force for Edmonton, and they need to find a way to replace that toughness against a very gritty Panthers team.

Hyman and McDavid have now played together for the last four years and have formed a fantastic partnership on the ice. McDavid was gutted to see his good buddy go on the shelf.

Via Oilers Nation:

“It’s extremely disappointing to lose Hy,” said McDavid ahead of Game 5 vs Dallas. “Devastated for him, obviously.

“That’s a guy who wants to be out there, wants to make a difference, so we’ll miss him a lot, but it’s great to see Ekky come back. He’s put in a lot of hard work to get to this point — credit to him, credit to the training staff for getting him back.”

While it's a shame Hyman won't get to experience the biggest stage in hockey for the second year in a row, he'll be there rooting on the Oilers as they look to get revenge for 2024's seven-game defeat to Florida.