The Edmonton Oilers had set out on the road trip with the intention of a clean sweep, but their first game of the trip against the Utah Mammoth ended with a defeat. Five Oilers players scored goals, including trade deadline acquisition from the Chicago Blackhawks, Colton Dach.
Looking back on the trade deadline, regardless of how the hockey community perceived it, general manager Stan Bowman’s moves had the owner’s stamp of approval: Daryl Katz.
Why Edmonton Oilers Owner Daryl Katz Approved of Stan Bowman’s Trade Deadline Moves
Bowman navigated the trade deadline intelligently. He addressed the Oilers’ most pressing demands at the deadline. He added corresponding pieces, including Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Dach, to a roster that had already acquired Samuel Poulin and Tristan Jarry earlier in the season. Of course, the Jarry trade has not gone as the Oilers would have wanted; against the Mammoth, Jarry made 25 saves.
However, Dach and Dickinson have turned out to be valuable additions to the Oilers’ lineup. Edmonton has struggled with depth, and playing without Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman means the rest of the team needs to step up if the Oilers want to keep their postseason odds alive. Dach and Dickinson, with one goal and one assist, respectively, delivered.
Bowman’s trade deadline activities have clearly yielded results. In fact, as a newly surfaced video makes evident, Katz was on board with Bowman’s moves at the deadline. “Well, Daryl’s excited. Well done, guys. Good. Awesome,” Bowman noted.
The GM added that the Oilers could use some physical play, and Murphy and Dach bring it.
“Three guys with size that, at this time of year, is an important quality. They all play a big game. Dickinson’s maybe not as physical, but he’s a good-sized kid. But Murph and Dach are both, you know, they enjoy that element to the game,” the Oilers GM pointed out while addressing the room.
The Dach-Dickinson-Trent Frederic lineup seems to have finally worked in the Oilers’ favor, adding much-needed depth and edge. Frederic, whose performance has been thoroughly forgettable for most of the season, had an assist against the Mammoth, too.
Dach had missed the past 12 games with Edmonton with a lower-body injury but made a comeback that will stick around for a while, even though the Mammoth ultimately defeated the Oilers. Dach scored 2:09 into the third period, when he took charge of his rebound, giving the Oilers a 5-4 lead.
“It felt good to kind of be back with the guys, and kind of be back in the locker room, and obviously contribute. But at the end of the day, we need to find a way to get the two points,” Dach said in the aftermath of the game.
The Oilers enjoyed a clear upper hand over the Mammoth at the end of the first period, leading 3-1, but Utah kept its effort up. Edmonton did a better job offensively than it did against the Vegas Golden Knights, but the team ought to do more. The margin for error at this stage of the regular season is incredibly small.
