logo
OilersNation has no direct affiliation to the Edmonton Oilers, Oilers Entertainment Group, NHL, or NHLPA
The Oilers have the ability to make another addition if they choose
Edmonton Oilers Stan Bowman Kris Knoblauch
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Tyler Yaremchuk
Mar 5, 2026, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 5, 2026, 13:18 EST
Comments
The Edmonton Oilers made another splash on the trade market on Wednesday night, acquiring forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Andrew Mangiapane and their 2027 first-round pick.
The trade marks the second time in a week that Stan Bowman has made a trade with his former club and the second time that the Oilers have shown that their No. 1 priority at this deadline is to improve their defensive play.
With Dickinson and Murphy, the Oilers have added two players who excel in their own end, and while their offensive numbers definitely don’t jump off the page, they should help the team keep pucks out of their own net.
Here are some numbers that illustrate just how poor the team has been this season at preventing goals.
Five-on-five GA/60 – 27th
Five-on-five xGA/60 – 15th
Five-on-five SCA/60 – 23rd
Penalty kill  percentage – 26th
The expected goal numbers, according to Natural Stat Trick are better than the actual numbers, but I don’t think that means these struggles are all on the goaltending.
That number actually varies depending on what models you look at. MoneyPuck, for example, has them at 27th in expected goals against.
Kevin Woodley was on the Jason Gregor Show recently and talked about this.
It’s clear that they had to get better in front of their goalies and these two trades should help in that regard, even if the price was higher than people, myself included, would have liked.
I know why the cost for someone like Dickinson rose to a first-round pick. Andrew Mangiapane had negative value on the market because of his contract. It costs assets to get out of bad deals. I just don’t want to give Bowman credit for getting out a contract that he handed out only eight months ago.
The Blackhawks threw in a young roster player in Colton Dach, which softens the blow a touch, but still, when a team gives up a first-round pick, it’s traditionally in a trade for a more impactful piece than a third-line centre.
Still, I am bullish on the type of impact that Dickinson could have.
I also think that this move, even more so than the Murphy deal, is a clear sign that the Oilers are all-in.
I don’t think you spend major assets on these types of players unless you clearly view yourself as a team capable of going on a deep run and considering the current state of the Pacific Division… why shouldn’t the Oilers feel that way?
So with that being said, why should Stan Bowman stop now?
The Oilers still have a surprising amount of cap space available to them, even after making two additions.
According to PuckPedia, the team currently has $475,000 in cap space with both Mattias Janmark and Curtis Lazar on LTIR.
That obviously isn’t enough to acquire a player, but the team has 13 forwards on their roster and two of them, the newly acquired Dach and Josh Samanski don’t require waivers in order to be sent back to Bakersfield.
If the Oilers were to send those two players down, they would have $2.275 million available to add a player and that player would be their 12th forward on the roster.
That means that if a team was willing to retain 50 per cent, the Oilers could acquire a player with a cap hit up to $4.55 million.
If Bowman wants to add, he absolutely could.
Now, would he dangle their first-round pick in 2028? I doubt it. It is their next available first, but moving on from that pick might make it difficult to make a major add this summer or next deadline.
But they still have second- and third-round picks in 2026 that they could dangle. They also have some prospects in the AHL like Quinn Hutson and Ike Howard.
I’m not sure that they would move Howard, but could a package of the 2026 second round pick and Quinn Hutson land you a decent top-nine winger? It’s certainly possible.
One of the names that people have speculated about is, of course, Bobby McMann in Toronto. He comes in at a bargain $1.35 million AAV but the asking price on him might be too high, especially considering the way that the market is trending.
Michael Bunting, a pending UFA in Nashville who makes $4.5 million, is another name that has popped up. He would bring some physicality to the Oilers top-nine and he does have 13 goals on the season, although five of them have come on the power play.
Nashville is right in the thick of the playoff race though and might be inclined to keep him.
Erik Haula is another name from the Predators to keep an eye on.
It’s a shame that Seattle is set on keeping their UFAs because Jordan Eberle would have been a fun name to include in this conversation.
There were also some light rumblings surrounding Corey Perry in Los Angeles, although reports have come out in the last 24 hours that he is talking to the Kings about an extension.
If that doesn’t get done, maybe the Oilers explore a reunion with ‘The Worm’.
There has also been some talk about AJ Greer in Florida. He would bring some bite to their fourth line but he isn’t someone capable of playing up the lineup, which is what I think Bowman should be looking for if he makes another move.
We are a day away from the NHL trade deadline and I don’t think the Oilers GM is done making calls. He has the ability to make another splash if he wants to.

PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF TRADE DEADLINE SPECIAL

The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th from 9 AM-1:30 PM MT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and don’t miss a second of deadline day chaos.

Uncategorized

MORE NEWS. IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Breaking News