Jason Dickinson didn’t give the Oilers much during the regular season, but when the playoffs finally arrived, he delivered the kind of moment that sticks. His Game 1 showing against the Anaheim Ducks lands as the fourth-best Oilers moment of the 2025-26 season, and it came in a postseason that offered Edmonton precious few bright spots.
The Oilers’ playoff run ended in six games, a first-round loss to Anaheim that marked a sharp break from the previous four seasons. Edmonton had played the most hockey it had in the last four years, and by the time the series was over, the wear and tear showed.
Dickinson arrived in Edmonton ahead of the March 6 trade deadline as part of a major deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Oilers sent their 2027 first-round pick and Andrew Mangiapane to Chicago for Colton Dach and Dickinson, with Dickinson viewed as the veteran defensive centre the team wanted. That role showed up in the regular season, where he produced one goal and four points in 17 games.
But the playoffs brought a different gear.
Dickinson had already logged plenty of postseason miles before joining the Oilers. He played 13 playoff games with the Dallas Stars in 2019, scoring three goals and five points.
In 2020, he added two goals and four points, and he and nine teammates became the only players to appear in 27 games in a single postseason. Dallas eventually fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the pandemic-impacted Stanley Cup Final.
His next playoff appearance didn’t come until April 20, 2026, and he looked ready for it from the start. Late in the first period of Game 1, he slipped behind Anaheim’s defence, took a sharp pass from Jake Walman, and turned it into a breakaway. Dickinson sold the shot, got Lukáš Dostal to commit, shifted left, and tucked the puck in for Edmonton’s first goal of the postseason.
A minute later, Kasperi Kapanen made it 2-0, giving the Oilers their best period of the playoffs. The Ducks answered quickly, scoring 19 seconds into the second period, and after 40 minutes Anaheim had grabbed a 3-2 lead.
Dickinson wasn’t done.
With under nine minutes left in the third, Walman started another breakout, this time finding Mattias Ekholm for a rush chance. Ekholm got a little help when a Ducks defenceman tripped over the blue line, opening space for the shot. The attempt was stopped, but the rebound came right to Dickinson, who finished it off to tie the game and match the two playoff goals he scored in 27 games back in 2020.
Kapanen scored again late in the third, and the Oilers escaped with a Game 1 win.
After that, the series unraveled. Edmonton dropped the next three games, and Dickinson missed Games 2 and 3.
He returned for Game 4 and picked up an assist, but the Oilers lost in overtime after a controversial call. Game 5 went Edmonton’s way, but back in California, the Ducks closed out the series with a 5-2 win.
Dickinson will be back next season, though. Before free agency began, he and the Oilers agreed to a five-year deal worth $4 million annually.
In Other News...
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Jason Robertson, Alex Debrincat, Vince Dunn and Jordan Binnington all surface as the sort of targets that could move the needle if the right circumstances line up. Robertson would require a lot of cap maneuvering, Debrincat carries the appeal of a long-standing fit, Dunn would answer a need on the back end and Binnington would only enter the picture if Edmonton keeps searching for stability in goal. None of it is imminent, but the list says plenty about where the Oilers are already trying to position themselves. [Read more 🡒]
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Bouchards big night came in a wild overtime win, and Ekholm followed two days later with a three-goal performance against Anaheim that capped the kind of blue-line scoring binge few teams ever see. Edmonton also finally strung together its first three-game winning streak late in the year, a small but notable sign of momentum during a season that kept swinging between frustration and flashes of something more promising. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Kane's Return Says Everything About Where Blackhawks Believe They're Headed
The Oilers are being linked to another aggressive swing as they weigh a possible move for Steven Stamkos, a rumor that fits the same win-now posture that has defined so much of their thinking around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton has already shown a willingness to chase proven help when the window feels open, and any conversation about adding a player of Stamkos stature only reinforces how little patience this front office appears to have for a slow build.
What makes the chatter worth watching is the price tag and the timing, because this is the kind of deal that would force Edmonton to part with real assets while also depending on Nashvilles willingness to reshape its own direction. The Predators have been linked to a broader reset, and if they decide to lean into that next chapter, the Oilers could find themselves in the middle of one of the summers most consequential trade discussions. [Read more 🡒]