The Edmonton Oilers have been searching for answers to their leaky defence all season.

Stan Bowman believes he may have found them, making a pair of deals with the Chicago Blackhawks this week that brought in Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach.

Both Murphy and Dickinson are proven defensive stalwarts, while the 23-year-old Dach is a big, physical, depth forward who may be more of a long-term project. For this article, I will be looking specifically at Dickinson and Murphy and how they fit into the Oilers’ lineup.

The third line has been a sore spot for the Oilers all season, and the biggest issue is at centre. Adam Henrique entered the season as the third-line centre, but at age 36, he doesn’t have enough left in the tank to handle that responsibility.

Out of the 440 forwards who have played at least 200 minutes this season at five-on-five, Henrique ranks 394th in points per hour. His offence has completely dried up, and with a minus-11 goal differential, it’s clear that his defensive ability isn’t enough for him to tread water in a top-nine role anymore.

The coaching staff briefly auditioned Jack Roslovic for the role earlier this season, but his lack of defensive tools and eagerness to blow the zone make him more suited to staying on the wing.

Enter Jason Dickinson. The left-handed centreman has been the defensive conscience of Chicago’s middle six for several years now, freeing up Connor Bedard and company to cook offensively. Now he will have the same role, taking some of the pressure off Edmonton’s stars.

According to Puck IQ, Dickinson played about 48.4 per cent of his time on ice against elite competition in Chicago this season, which is second-most among forwards in the NHL. Despite the heavy responsibility, he ranked third on the team in expected goal-share.

The Blackhawks are a bad team, but Dickinson was someone they trusted to keep games low-event against top competition and give themselves a chance to win. At his press conference on Thursday, Stan Bowman spoke about the importance of having a reliable shutdown centre in the bottom six.

“You have a D-zone faceoff, you’ve got to put your players on the ice, and maybe in the past, or maybe up until today, we always had to be careful who we deployed in those situations, and we end up ramping up the [McDavid] minutes too much,” said Bowman. “Now we don’t have to do that.”

Dickinson slots comfortably into the third-line centre position, but who might be the ideal linemates? During Matt Savoie’s recent run next to Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin has been bumped to the third line, and that should be a nice fit with Dickinson in the fold.

Podkolzin is one of the best defensive wingers on the team. He and Dickinson share a certain level of speed, physicality and doggedness that would make them a nightmare to play against.

According to All Three Zones, Podkolzin ranks in the 75th percentile in zone exits and the 78th percentile in exits with possession. Dickinson’s excellent defensive stick and ability to win battles should help break up cycles, so having a zone-exit machine like Podkolzin beside him is a natural fit.

That combination should survive defensive-zone shifts and move the puck out of danger better than any bottom-six line Edmonton has used this season.

As far as the right winger goes, the main candidates are Kasperi Kapanen and Trent Frederic. I prefer the winger combination of Kapanen and Podkolzin, given their track record together. In 208 minutes this season, they’ve outscored their opposition 14-7 with a 50.5 per cent expected goal share. Not too shabby. Kapanen also shares a similar level of speed and physicality that would round out the third line nicely. Frederic’s skating has been improving of late, however, so perhaps he could fill that role too.

Another major area of concern this season for the Oilers has been finding the right combinations for the bottom two defence pairings. While the Ekholm-Bouchard duo is still money in the bank, the rest of the defensive core has been unreliable all season. The coaching staff tried to deploy Jake Walman on the second pair next to Darnell Nurse, but that plan has backfired spectacularly.

Walman is better suited to play on the left side, where he’s more comfortable with his defensive assignments and doesn’t have to handle the puck on his backhand so much. His puck-moving ability has been severely stunted playing on the offside.

Handedness issues aside, his defensive game has fallen off significantly. Last season, the Oilers gave up 2.55 expected goals against per hour with Walman on the ice, but this season, it’s skyrocketed to a team-worst 3.42. Whether that’s due to injuries or something else, there needed to be a change to bring more of a calming presence to a chaotic blueline. Murphy could be the antidote.

Murphy ranks first on the Blackhawks in expected goals against per hour and fifth in the entire NHL in defensive Wins Above Replacement. He hasn’t been leaned on to play the same level of difficult minutes as Dickinson, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the more impactful stay-at-home defencemen in the league.

Standing at 6-foot-4, Murphy uses his size and strength to make life miserable for any forwards trying to set up at the top of the crease. The Oilers have been leaking goals against off rebounds and lost battles in the inner slot, so that’s an area where Murphy can make a significant impact.

He doesn’t like to handle the puck, so I don’t see a fit for Murphy with Nurse, who typically plays better when he doesn’t have to shoulder too much puck-moving responsibility. Walman, on the other hand, is at his best when he’s pushing the pace offensively. Murphy could act as the defensive safety net, allowing him to take risks without the whole structure collapsing.

In a small sample, Nurse and Emberson have had decent results together, breaking even in goals with a 54 per cent expected goal share, so that combination could work as the other pairing, although I do have some concerns about their ability to defend the rush.

Would the Walman-Murphy and Nurse-Emberson pairings be strong enough to win the minutes without Bouchard and Ekholm? A lot of it is riding on Walman’s ability to bounce back the rest of the season, but Murphy’s defensive acumen should put him in a better situation to do that.

The allure of Dickinson and Murphy doesn’t stop at their defensive game at even strength; it also extends to their penalty killing. Edmonton has been abysmal shorthanded this season, ranking 27th in both goals against and expected goals against on the penalty kill.

The Blackhawks have the NHL’s top-ranked penalty kill, with Murphy playing the second-most minutes per game and Dickinson the fifth-most. Murphy’s length and net-front defending make him a great penalty killer, and he should be extra helpful at preventing some of the rebound goals that have plagued Edmonton on the kill. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported on Thursday that he was paired with Walman on the penalty kill at practice.

Walman has typically been deployed on his offside with Nurse on the kill, just as he was at even strength. This Murphy–Walman duo could mean that the Oilers are fading Nurse on the penalty kill. Given he has a team-worst rate of goals against shorthanded for defencemen, that might be for the best.

As for Dickinson, I could see him settling in as the second forward pair. For as great a defensive player as Dickinson is, his faceoff ability is only average at about a 49.5 per cent win rate this season. Henrique, who sits at 54.8 per cent could be trusted to take the draws to start most penalty kills, with Dickinson anchoring the second group that comes out.

Adding Dickinson could also allow the Oilers to ease up on the penalty kill minutes for top-six forwards like Connor McDavid or even Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has quietly struggled on the penalty kill.

Assuming the Oilers deploy Dickinson as the third-line centre and Murphy alongside Walman on the blueline, there’s a good chance Edmonton can significantly improve some of its biggest weaknesses. Bottom-six scoring might still be an issue, but if the power play continues at its historic pace, they can overcome it. The main question is whether the improved defensive personnel will ultimately create an environment that helps their goaltenders get back on track. Going into the playoffs with Connor Ingram and Tristan Jarry is still a risky bet.