Stan Bowman has already put together what looks like a solid summer in Edmonton, but one roster wrinkle still hangs over the Oilers as training camp gets closer: center depth, and specifically the lack of a right-handed option in the middle.
That matters because the Oilers are clearly planning for stretches where Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl skate together at five-on-five. Mike Babcock has already said that setup will happen at times, and if Edmonton leans into it the way it did for 318 minutes last season under Kris Knoblauch, the club will need another center who can handle real minutes behind them. Right now, the fit isn’t clean.
McDavid and Draisaitl remain the league’s best one-two punch at center. Jason Dickinson is in the mix after being acquired at the deadline and then signed to a five-year deal worth $4 million per season, and Josh Samanski showed useful two-way ability in 24 games last year.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can still slide into the middle, but the numbers suggest that approach is losing steam. In 2025-26, away from McDavid and Draisaitl at five-on-five, Edmonton posted a 37 percent goal share in 375 minutes, with an expected goal share of 46 percent.
That’s not enough if the Oilers want to keep pushing toward a sixth Stanley Cup.
The problem is that the market for centers has been brutal. Boone Jenner landed four years at $5.75 million per season, Colton Sissons got two years at $4.25 million per year, and Scott Laughton signed for three more seasons at $3.5 million annually. Those prices tell the story: teams are paying up because there just aren’t many available centers to go around.
The free-agent path is basically gone. Chris Johnston’s continually updated list for The Athletic has been stripped down to just three names, and none of them shoot right. That leaves trade, even if Bowman has to get creative to make it happen.
The most realistic targets come from teams with depth at the position, and the names that stand out are Kirby Dach of the Montreal Canadiens, Noah Laba of the New York Rangers, Matt Poitras of the Boston Bruins and Conor Geekie of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Geekie shoots left, which makes him a less natural fit for the Oilers’ specific need, but all four bring something useful to the table.
Dach is the most intriguing of the group. He signed a one-year deal for $3.6 million earlier this month, pushing his next major decision to the summer of 2027.
He’s 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds, skates in the 94th percentile according to NHL Edge, and was the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. Injuries have interrupted what once looked like a much bigger rise, but the tools are still there.
Last season at five-on-five, Dach posted 1.09 goals per 60, 1.77 points per 60, a 50 percent goal share, a 48 percent expected goal share and a 40 percent faceoff rate. He’s not a pure full-time center, but if Edmonton wants McDavid and Draisaitl together, Dach could handle strong-side draws on the second line and bring real offensive upside if he stays healthy.
Laba is the longer-shot swing. He has size, speed and enough skill to project as a middle-six center, and he came out of nowhere to earn an NHL job last season.
Peter Baugh of The Athletic tracked him early as a surprising but meaningful part of New York’s retool. The offense didn’t jump off the page, but players can take a real step in their second or third NHL seasons.
The Rangers are unlikely to move him, which makes him more of an outer-limit target than a likely one.
Poitras and Geekie also fit the conversation because they’ve already logged meaningful NHL time over the last three seasons. Since 2023-24, Dach has played 96 NHL games, Poitras 69 and Geekie 66.
At five-on-five, Dach has 0.77 goals per 60 and 1.44 points per 60, Poitras has 0.52 goals and 1.71 points, and Geekie has 0.66 goals and 1.16 points. Their shot rates, shooting percentages, faceoff numbers and goal shares all show enough to keep them on Edmonton’s radar.
For the Oilers, the right-shot piece is what pushes Dach and Poitras higher on the list. Dach’s cap hit is a real complication, though, because it would squeeze Bowman’s flexibility later in the season.
Poitras is a restricted free agent, and Boston has already qualified him, but he still hasn’t signed a contract. That situation should resolve soon, and he should have a strong chance to make the Bruins out of camp, even if the lack of a deal lingers into August.
The bigger picture is simple enough. Edmonton has spent the offseason talking about McDavid and Draisaitl together at five-on-five, and that makes the Nugent-Hopkins-at-center plan look less like a long-term answer and more like a fading workaround.
If the Oilers want to enter camp with as few cracks as possible, adding another center - especially a right-handed one - would make a lot of sense. If Dach or Poitras becomes available, Bowman should be ready to act.
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