The Edmonton Oilers’ interest in Kirby Dach is a strange fit on the surface, and the club’s early-season numbers only make it look more puzzling.
Edmonton is 2-0-1 through three games, and the offense has done its job with 17 goals. The issue is what’s been going the other way: 14 goals allowed.
That kind of start points pretty clearly to help needed on the blue line or in goal. Instead, the Oilers have been linked to Montreal Canadiens centre Kirby Dach.
In late September, NHL insider Frank Seravalli said the Oilers were “drooling” with interest in the 25-year-old. That buzz has not gone away, with multiple insiders continuing to connect Edmonton to a possible deal involving Dach. There’s also a familiar thread here: general manager Stan Bowman drafted Dach third overall for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019.
Edmonton did make a forward move on Wednesday morning, sending depth defenceman Spencer Stastney to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Filip Hallander. But Hallander, 26, has appeared in only 18 NHL games, so that swap does not look like the kind of move that would change the Oilers’ broader thinking about Dach.
The appeal is easy to understand if you go back to Dach’s draft year. He was coming off 25 goals and 73 points in 62 games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and was viewed as close to NHL-ready. He jumped to the Blackhawks right away as an 18-year-old.
At 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds, Dach has the frame and skill set to be a power forward. The problem is that his career has never really matched the expectations that followed him into the league.
He has not reached 40 points in any of his seven NHL seasons. Injuries have played a big role in that, since he has only topped 60 games in a season once in his professional career. That alone should give Edmonton pause.
Even when Dach has been available, the production has been ordinary. He posted eight goals and 15 points in 37 regular-season games in 2025-26, then added four goals and one assist in 19 playoff games.
That makes him a reclamation project, and that kind of gamble is harder to justify for a team trying to win now. The Oilers already have one project up front in Isaac Howard, and they do not have the luxury of taking on another.
If Edmonton is going to add a forward, a scoring winger would make more sense than another bet on upside. But even that probably should not be the main priority. The bigger problem is still in their own zone.
The Oilers have already allowed 14 goals in games against the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, and that points to real work needed on the back end. Their blue line has struggled, and that’s where a trade should be aimed.
There are questions in goal as well, though changes there do not seem imminent. Devon Levi looked solid in his most recent start against the Kraken, and Frederik Andersen is expected back at some point in December. Edmonton will likely want to see that pair healthy before making any decisions.
For now, the smarter play looks simple: resist the urge to chase another reclamation project up front. Dach may still become the player many projected when he entered the league, but the Oilers do not have time to wait on that kind of turnaround. With a Stanley Cup still in view, their trade assets are better spent fixing the areas that are actually holding them back.
In Other News...
Oilers Trade Talks Are Heating Up Around One Hidden Target
Trade chatter around the Oilers has picked up again, and this time the focus is on a young forward who could give Edmonton some additional upside down the middle. TSN insider Darren Dreger reported that general manager Stan Bowman has been in detailed talks with an Eastern Conference club, with the organization also weighing its own crop of young players as it sorts through roster options.
The identity of the player has been kept quiet, which only adds to the sense that the discussions are delicate and getting serious. Dreger said the sides have been working on the deal for several weeks and that it could be close, a sign that Edmonton may be nearing a move that says as much about its long-term planning as it does about the immediate roster. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Make A Needed Depth Move As Injuries Keep Pressuring Forwards
The Oilers kept working to patch their forward group by dealing defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Penguins for Filip Hallander, a swap that fits a couple of pressing needs on both sides. Edmonton has been leaning hard on its roster depth as injuries continue to squeeze the forwards, while Pittsburgh gets a left-shot defenseman in a move that helps its own blue line picture.
Hallander has seen only limited NHL action with Pittsburgh this season, but Edmonton is clearly willing to take a look at another option who can help stabilize the middle and bottom of the lineup. For a team trying to stay afloat through the wear and tear of the early season, even a modest depth addition can matter, and this one gives the Oilers a little more flexibility as they wait on healthier bodies to return. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Made A Fringe Roster Move Worth Watching
The Oilers have made a small roster move that could end up being more interesting than it looks on the surface, swapping a defenseman for a forward in a deal with Pittsburgh. Edmonton sent Spencer Stastney to the Penguins and brought back Filip Hallander, with both clubs confirming the trade as the Oilers continue to tinker at the margins of the roster.
Stastney had made Edmontons opening-night roster, but he has not played in a game this season, which gives the move a little extra weight for a team always trying to balance depth now against flexibility later. Hallander arrives with his own career path and recent performance history, and for the Oilers the real question is whether this is simply a depth shuffle or the first sign of a broader look at how the bottom of the lineup is being shaped. [Read more 🡒]