As the Edmonton Oilers face elimination once again, this time ahead of game six on Thursday night, in many ways this season has been a bit of a disappointment.
Between the goaltending woes and their coaching staff being questioned amongst many other things, the team has seen a lot of lows. At points, it seemed quite possible that the Oilers would miss the playoffs altogether and though they did not clinch a spot until practically the eleventh hour, they are here.
One of the biggest positives this season has been the Oilers deadline acquisitions. Even at the time, the cost was not crazy high given the market and especially with Stan Bowman being able to get rid of Andrew Mangiapane while acquiring a third line shutdown centre, a second pairing shutdown defenceman, and a depth young energy forward in Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach, respectively. Overall, it was a success in a vacuum.
Even now, it seems even more like a win, especially given their play in the playoffs.
Oilers deadline acquisitions have fit in well
There are various different schools of thought but the Oilers two biggest needs this year were keeping the puck out of their own net and depth scoring. It appeared that Bowman and Co. at least recognized the prior, dumping all of their chips into the one basket and honestly, it has kind of paid off so far.
There are holes no doubt but Dickinson especially has been one of the brightest spots on the whole team this season and especially in the playoffs. Despite being injured and missing two out of five games so far these playoffs, he has scored two goals and added one assist for three points. He has also positioned himself as a stable third line matchup centre who found success with different combinations in the Oilers lineup.
Dickinson is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer with his previous two-year contract worth $4.25 million per season set to expire. If his cost would still allow the Oilers to make the needed additions, he should be a high priority player to re-up this offseason.
Murphy, in a similar vein to Dickinson, was able to step into the Oilers lineup and almost immediately provide sound defensive play. He also has helped to stabilize one of the Oilers' most polarizing players in Darnell Nurse, with them as a pairing consistently winning their minutes.
Also similar to Dickinson, if the Oilers are able to re-sign Murphy without harming the potential to make other necessary moves, he should be a priority. Injecting him into the lineup has helped to change the makeup of the Oilers roster on the backend.
Finally, Dach who like was said in a recently released controversial video, is not like his brother, Montreal Canadiens' centre Kirby Dach. No, Colton is an extremely physical power forward who makes up one-half of the newly minted "Bash Brothers" duo with him and Trent Frederic.
Knoblauch revealed a new nickname for the duo of Dach & Frederic today after practice:
— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) April 19, 2026
The Bash Brothers. #Oilers
Despite riding a high shooting percentage (33.3 percent) to score four points (two goals, two assists) in eight regular season games with the Oilers, he has not found as much scoring success in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dach enters this offseason as an expiring restricted free agent. At only 23 years old, he still has some room to grow and is a useful piece for the future, whether that is as he currently is or in an elevated role. He could be a major piece on the wings for next season, especially if he is given a chance to win a spot higher in the lineup.
The Oilers deadline acquisitions are all pending free agents and all three have proven to be impactful pieces for the club this season and could be moving forward. Bowman and the Oilers' management should see them all as priorities to re-sign this off-season.
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