The stories write themselves right now.

The Edmonton Oilers can’t play defence. Well, they can, but they just don’t seem to be choosing to do so.

Talk of improving from within has been nothing short of exhausting. Oilers players don’t seem to have answers, and the coaching staff can try to change up the lines — or even who’s behind the bench itself — but nothing seems to be working.

Enter Stan Bowman.

Just two days after picking up defensive defenceman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks, whose game emulates that of his father, Gord, Bowman was back on the ringer with Kyle Davidson. This time, it was to bring in a nearly ideal third-line centre, Jason Dickinson, and a young player in Colton Dach.

The cost didn’t appear cheap. They moved out a disgruntled asset in Andrew Mangiapane, and a top-12 protected first-round pick in 2027 to make the deal and the money work. Fan reaction has been swift, with many expressing sticker shock at the trade.

Understandably, many still clutch onto the concept of first-round picks being worth their weight in gold, but the reality is that the acquisition cost is more than fair. For one, the Oilers were believed to need to attach some kind of an asset to get out from Mangiapane, whose contract has a year left on it, whether that be a player or a draft pick. Then there needed to be value for the Blackhawks to use their final retention slot two days out from the deadline to eat 50 per cent of Dickinson’s contract, which expires at the end of this season.

According to PuckPedia’s cap relief calculator, the cost of Chicago taking on the remaining money on Mangiapane’s deal is equivalent to the 35th overall selection in the draft. If all goes according to plan, Edmonton’s pick will be very late in the first round, so Edmonton did more than well on that front.

Then there’s the players.

Dickinson is considered one of the best shutdown centres in the NHL, spending the majority of his ice time in matchup roles going up against opposing teams’ elite talent, something the Oilers haven’t had in some time. According to hockeystats.com, he provides defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at the 11th-best rate of any centre in the league this season, and over the last four years in aggregate, at the eighth-best rate. Hockey Viz, meanwhile, has his defensive contributions operating at a 20 per cent rate higher than a league-average player.

No Oilers centre has provided as much defensive value in a single season as Dickinson since Derek Ryan in 2022-23, and on a per-hour basis, there hasn’t been another centre beyond Ryan in the analytics era (beginning in 2007-08) to be as strong defensively as he has been this season.

The long and short of it is this: Dickinson is as good as they come defensively, and is of a mold that the Oilers simply haven’t had in a very, very long time.

And his acquisition is going to open up plenty of options for Kris Knoblauch and his coaching staff.

No door may open more than for Dickinson to be utilized against opponents’ top lines. Easiest done at home, that is going to create the opportunity for lines centred by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to spend less of their time going up against top competition, something both have done at high rates this season. Dickinson’s ability to kill penalties could limit McDavid’s short-handed ice time, too, which he’s done at the second-highest rate per game played of his career.

Scoring goals is Edmonton’s strength, something they’ll be able to continue to do, but Dickinson’s acquisition wasn’t about further pushes for offence. It’s about boosting their play in their own zone, and Edmonton just got the kind of player they’ve been searching for for years.

Lord knows they need it.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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