The expectations for the Chicago Blackhawks this year were low. Now in year two of the Connor Bedard era, there was a thought they could take a slight step forward and become a more competitive team. They made serious additions in the offseason, bringing in Tyler Bertuzzi, a former 30-goal scorer, and Teuvo Teravainen, who played for the Blackhawks to start his career.

Despite those additions, Chicago is still in the basement of the NHL and has a 2-8-0 record in their last 10 games. They were embarrassed at the Winter Classic, and now there is visible frustration coming from Bedard in his post-game interviews.

So what now? Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli had two Blackhawks on his most recent trade targets list: Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato. A reunion with Taylor Hall doesn’t feel like a fit for the Edmonton Oilers, especially since they have Jeff Skinner on their roster, who can’t break the top 12, never mind the top-six. The Oilers have money to spend, but using assets to acquire Hall’s $6 million cap hit and then having it retained a couple of times doesn’t feel like a good use of them.

Donato, however, feels like a good addition for the Oilers. The Blackhawks’ forward is 28 years old, with 445 regular-season games played, and has a cap hit of $2-million and is a pending unrestricted free agent. His playoff experience is limited, but he was part of the Seattle Kraken team that beat the Colorado Avalanche in seven games, then lost in seven to Dallas in round two. Donato finished with two assists while averaging fewer than 10 minutes a night.

Donato is one of the few bright spots in Chicago this season. He’s on pace for a career-high in goals and points, having already scored 13 goals and 24 points in 42 games. He’s third on the team in scoring, despite only averaging 14:47 of playing time, which is ninth amongst Blackhawks forwards. Nineteen of his 24 points have come at even strength, which would rank him fourth on the Oilers, behind Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard.

In his trade targets article, Frank Seravalli wrote the following about Donato:

An obstacle that could prevent Donato from joining the Oilers is his role on the penalty kill. Donato doesn’t kill penalties, with only 1:58 of ice time against the man advantage. Edmonton doesn’t need a PK guy necessarily; however, they do like to have their bottom-six players contribute to that role. The only bottom-six forwards who haven’t played on the penalty kill are Corey Perry and Kasperi Kapanen, although Kapanen did play a shift against the Los Angeles Kings.

While Donato is intriguing but maybe not a perfect fit, Jason Dickinson might be that guy instead. He had a second season with Chicago, scoring 22 goals and 35 points last year, but has taken a drop offensively this season, with only seven goals in 44 games. However, it’s not all about offence with him. He’s a decent defensive forward who plays on the penalty kill and is reliable in the faceoff circle.

Dickinson’s relative goals-for percentage of 5.1 is the best on the Blackhawks, effectively meaning he’s controlling the goal share at a 5.1 percent rate better than his teammates at 5-on-5. Additionally, he has a -2.15 relative shots-against per hour rate and a 2.92 goals-against per hour rate, which is eighth best amongst Blackhawks forwards, but he has also played the third most minutes. He has been on the ice for the most goals against on a surprisingly effective Chicago penalty kill, but his 8.51 goals against per hour are improvements over each of his last two seasons in Chicago.

The addition of Dickinson adds more depth to the forward group and the penalty kill. The Oilers’ decision to acquire someone like Dickinson is all dependent on how Noah Philp does on his current audition. He has one more year on his deals at $4.25 million, but if the Oilers can convince the Blackhawks to retain some salary, that’ll make life easier. He’s still under 30 and one year removed from a career season. Dickinson still has plenty to offer in his career and could refind that form on a Cup-contending Edmonton Oilers roster.