NHL
2026 NHL
Trade Deadline
The Oilers acquired centre Jason Dickinson from Chicago earlier this week. Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images
The Athletic has live coverage of the NHL trade deadline.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman faced a challenging trade deadline this week. The club needed a right-handed defenceman who could help on the penalty kill and punish opposition forwards; an upgrade for the third line, a trio that has performed poorly all year; a rugged forward who could intimidate and disrupt opposition defenders with heavy hits. Bowman got all three and did it under the cap. The price was dear (two early draft picks), but all the “needs” boxes got a checkmark. The big question now: How well do the acquired players address those areas of weakness?
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In: RHD Connor Murphy, C Jason Dickinson, F Colton Dach, G Tristan Jarry, F Samuel Poulin,
Out: 2027 conditional first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, 2029 second-round pick, LW/RW Andrew Mangiapane, G Stuart Skinner, LHD Brett Kulak
Grade: B
There were no home runs at the deadline for Edmonton, but the solutions are bona fide bets. Murphy is a solid penalty killer and a successful five-on-five defender against all but the top competition. Dickinson is the goods as a shutdown centre, but has been unable to score at previous rates over the last two seasons. Dach hits everything in sight (a mammoth 20 hits per 60 this season at five-on-five), but can he stay out of the penalty box for a coach (Kris Knoblauch) who doesn’t want a parade of penalties?
Taken with previous acquisitions over the season (goalies Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram, defenceman Spencer Stastney, opening night free-agent signing Jack Roslovic), the latest additions are worthy bets made by a team working on a small budget with few assets to chase top options.
A look at Chris Johnston’s NHL trade board at The Athletic near the end of February ranked Murphy as the No. 21 option and Dickinson at No. 34 on the list. The Oilers didn’t pursue the right-handed defencemen higher on the list (Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk, others), likely due to cap issues, lack of assets or no-movement clauses.
Today, the Oilers are a strong contender on the top two lines and top pairing, and a faltering roster with holes everywhere else. The roster is rife with no-movement contracts belonging to players in their 30s. The wall players hit in their 30s is straight ahead, or, in the case of Mangiapane, has arrived. The Oilers are burning daylight on the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.
This is the moment owner Daryl Katz brought Bowman in to oversee. Did Bowman get it right? Today, it looks like he needed more assets to trade, more cap room. He needed more room to wheel. — Allan Mitchell
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Edmonton’s top two lines and top pairing are championship quality. In fact, the McDavid line (with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman) and the Draisaitl trio (currently Roslovic and Matt Savoie on the wings) gift the team a big edge at even strength (120-98 goals, 55 percent) along with the league’s best power play (13 goals per 60, via Natural Stat Trick).
The rest of the roster, with the McDavid and Draisaitl lines at rest, deliver only 37 percent (41-71) of the goals. Bowman acquired Dickinson to centre a shutdown third line and Murphy to calm down the runaway train that is the Oilers’ defence in recent weeks. Dach may play an energy role on the fourth line, but much depends on his ability to impact the game physically without taking penalties.
Which brings us to the penalty kill. Both Dickinson and Murphy were key members of the Hawks’ vaunted penalty kill. Both will be relied on this spring in Edmonton when the Oilers are short-handed.
The pairings at practice on Thursday had the top pairing (Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard) intact, with Darnell Nurse alongside Ty Emberson and Murphy with Jake Walman. Stastney was the No. 7 defender. Knoblauch has the option to mix and match for the rest of the season, but the first blush look has Murphy on a veteran third pair.
The Dickinson line may have Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen initially, although Trent Frederic is an option. A good guess has Adam Henrique with Dach and the leftover winger from the projected third line options.
Forwards
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Jack Roslovic – Leon Draisaitl – Matt Savoie
Vasily Podkolzin – Jason Dickinson – Kasperi Kapanen
Trent Frederic – Adam Henrique– Colton Dach
Extras: Curtis Lazar (LTIR), Josh Samanski (minors or 13th forward)
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Defence
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Ty Emberson
Jake Walman – Connor Murphy
Extras: Spencer Stastney, Alec Regula (minors), Riley Stillman (minors)
Goalies
Tristan Jarry, Connor Ingram
Calvin Pickard (minors)
The trade: Connor Murphy from the Blackhawks for a 2028 second-round selection
Shayna Goldman’s grade: A-
Mark Lazerus’ grade: A-
My grade: B+
The trade: Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach from the Blackhawks for a conditional 2027 first-round pick
Mark Lazerus’ grade: B-
My grade: B-
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Allan Mitchell is a contributor to The Athletic’s Oilers coverage. Veteran radio broadcaster. His blog, Lowetide, has chronicled the team since 2005. Follow Allan on Twitter @Lowetide
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