We are 13 days from NHL free agency, and the Edmonton Oilers still don’t officially have a head coach, as they await the NHL’s decision from the Mike Babcock investigation.

Edmonton is the only team in the league without a head coach. It isn’t ideal as they try to prepare for free agency. Their own pending free agents are waiting to see if it will be Babcock or another coach. Who will be coaching is a major part of the decision process for coaches. It is great if the general manager likes you and wants you to sign, but ultimately, the head coach allocates ice time and opportunity.

The Oilers’ list of pending unrestricted free agents includes Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, Jack Roslovic, Kasperi Kapanen, Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Max Jones, Connor Ingram, Calvin Pickard, James Hamblin, Cam Dineen and Samuel Poulin.

I expect Henrique, Pickard, and Lazar to sign elsewhere. Roslovic will undoubtedly test the market and should command a significant increase from his $1.5 million AAV deal last season. Edmonton likes Hamblin. He’s been a great leader and contributor in Bakersfield, but I wonder if he will look for a different opportunity elsewhere and see if he can become a regular NHLer. Dineen can fill in at the NHL level if needed, but he’d be down the depth chart, while Poulin is likely more of an AHL veteran at this stage of his career.

Murphy and Dickinson would be at the top of the list of players to sign. The organization has been searching for a second pair right-defenceman and a defensive-minded third-line centre for years. If either leave, the Oilers will be scrambling to fill those spots. Kapanen was excellent in the playoffs and shouldn’t cost too much (around $2-to-$2.3 million) and both sides are familiar with each other. Jones, when healthy, played well, but with Colton Dach in the mix, does Jones see a spot on the roster for himself? Ingram had a solid season, and, honestly, I don’t have a good read on how the organization views him. The free agent market of goalies isn’t flush with better options, just different ones, and Ingram, like many of the other free agents, is waiting to see who the head coach will be.

What if they can’t sign Dickinson? I know they want to and have had discussions on a new contract. Dickinson made the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 with Dallas, going to the Cup Final in 2020, but then missed the playoffs for five seasons before coming to Edmonton. He played through an ankle fracture in the playoffs and played quite well. He spoke openly about how desperate he was to experience playoff hockey again. He could test the market and get paid handsomely, with a shallow free agent pool of centres, but how many teams interested in him are as good as Edmonton? How much does being on a good team matter to him? Josh Samanski and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are internal options, if Dickinson leaves, but Samanski is probably better suited to battle for the fourth line centre role.

Laughton just ended a five-year deal with a $3 million AAV. He turned 32 last month. In the past five seasons Laughton has produced 68-95—163 while Dickinson has tallied 50-59—109. Their five-on-five play, in terms of shots for/against and goals for/against, is similar.

Player                       GF-GA                                   SF-SA
Dickinson         148-200 (42.5 GF%)            1759-2050 (46.2 SF%)
Laughton          167-225 (42.6%)                  2210-2320 (48.8%)

In those five seasons, both guys played mainly on non-playoff teams. Laughton played 20 games with Toronto in 2025 and 21 with Los Angeles this season, while Dickinson only skated in 17 games on a playoff team in Edmonton.

Courtesy of PuckIQ, I looked at how they fared against elite players the past five seasons.

Player            TOI             GF-GA                              DFF-DFA (Dangerous Fenwick For/Against)
Dickinson       1590              39-58 (40.2 GF%)                                     904.8-1217.3 (42.6%)
Laughton        1394              38-73 (34.2%)                                           981.7-1137.7 (46.3%)

Dickinson played more against top players, and allowed fewer goals, but he had a much higher Sv% and a lower DFF%. Historically, Laughton will generate more offensively, but Dickinson has been better defensively.

Stan Bowman recognized the Oilers needed more players who gravitate towards defensive-minded hockey and that’s why he acquired Murphy and Dickinson. Re-signing both would be ideal for the Oilers, and it is important as the biggest weakness on the team is their willingness and desire to play solid, consistent defensive hockey.

Yesterday on my radio show, Dennis Bernstein mentioned Laughton. Bernstein covers the Kings and has a good insight into Laughton. “I think if DJ Smith was named head coach, he would have signed already. They still might sign him, I know he liked it here, but at this point I think he could test the market,” said Bernstein.

The rumour mill has DJ Smith potentially joining Babcock in Edmonton, if he is allowed to. It isn’t just the head coach who can attract players. Smith has coached in the NHL since 2016 with Toronto, Ottawa and Los Angeles. He will have players he likes and dislikes, similar to Babcock, and if Edmonton is unable to sign Dickinson, they will need to look at other centre options. Laughton could be one.

There aren’t many other candidates. Colton Sissons, Alex Kerfoot, Erik Haula, Teddy Blueger, and Kevin Stenlund are the other options. I appreciate Stenlund’s faceoff and penalty killing abilities, I just think asking him to be a third-line centre would lead to disappointment. Sissons is a solid player, but he was mainly the fourth-line centre in Vegas. I’d be interested in both as fourth-line centres, who kill penalties, and both shoot right, which is something the Oilers need. But the list of available third-line centres is very short. Among pending free agents, it is Dickinson or Laughton.

Edmonton needs to sign one of them.

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