If Oilers are "done" this deadline, it would be a huge mistake

Ahead of the March 6th NHL trade deadline, Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has made two separate moves with the Chicago Blackhawks. He has acquired a third line centre inJason Dickinson, depth forward in Colton Dach, along with top-four right-handed defenceman in Connor Murphy.

Going the other way, the Oilers paid a 2027 top-12 protected first round pick, a 2028 second round pick, and winger Andrew Mangiapane. Part of the reason for the price tag is that the Blackhawks retained 50 percent on both Dickinson and Murphy.

As of right now, it appears that Bowman and Co. are done making moves ahead of Friday's trade deadline. Speaking with media, Bowman said "I would imagine that we're done. I don't expect to make other moves but part of our job is to see what's out there." Adding that "any further addition wouldn't be a significant one."

Are the Oilers moves enough?

The two moves the Oilers made check a lot of boxes and do fill needs that the team had throughout their lineup. The Oilers depth down the middle has been depleted this season, adding a high end shutdown third line centre is a great addition. The club has also had issues defending and supplementing that with a quality stay-at-home defenceman is very welcomed.

On top of those two players, adding a young and rugged depth piece with some interesting potential is even better. However, the team is in serious need of depth scoring and unfortunately, none of their additions ahead of the trade deadline accomplish this.

It will remain to be seen if their current moves, adding stout defensive players will be enough to mitigate the lack of offence from their bottom-six. According to naturalstattrick.com, when McDavid and Draisaitl are not on the ice, the team struggles to generate and produce offensively.

Their moves at the deadline have completely neglected this aspect and they have not helped their depth offence, instead they may have made it even worse.

Bowman could and should do more

Although the trades were good and the players they added do make the Oilers better, the team still has the ability to maximize their salary cap room with a few roster moves. They can then add another forward who can help them to become more lethal offensively, boosting their depth and helping to ease the burden on McDavid and Draisaitl.

Based on Bowman's comments, that is unlikely to happen and the Oilers will have to wait until the offseason to possibly see tangible changes made to their depth scoring. Hopefully, the Oilers are able to luck out this year and win games without solely relying on McDavid and Draisaitl to carry them on the scoresheet.

If not, then it is once again the Oilers trying the same thing and expecting a different result but we know how that has worked out the past two years in a row.