Connor McDavid faces scoring burden after Edmonton Oilers defensive trade deadline
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Daniel Lucente
Mar 7, 2026 (3:57 PM)
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Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Mark Lazerus hit the nerve, Edmonton added Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson, but the goals still sit on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Murphy is 32, a 2011 first-round pick by Arizona, and his $4.4 million cap hit is cut in half. He is a right-shot defender, pending UFA, and a clean fit for hard minutes and the penalty kill.
Dickinson is 30, a 2013 first-round pick by Dallas, and Chicago retained 50 percent on his $4.25 million deal. He is also a pending UFA, which tells you this was a now move, not a core move.
Tristan Jarry was the earlier swing, and his $5.375 million cap hit runs through 2027-28. He came in to settle the crease, but one goalie bet never fixed the winger hole.
Edmonton also grabbed Colton Dach, 23, a 2021 second-round pick by Chicago. He is cheap at $825,000 and still interesting, but he is not the top-six scoring answer for this spring.
Connor McDavid still carries the Edmonton Oilers attack
You can feel the fan split here. Some love the sandpaper, but plenty see a team that patched leaks and still left the engine doing all the heavy lifting.
"Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson are good defenders who make Edmonton better at five-on-five and on the penalty kill, but they don't add much scoring punch," Lazerus writes. "It's still all on McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to carry the load offensively."
"The Oilers needed a scoring winger and got two defense-first players," Lazerus writes. "The Oilers needed a true No. 1 goalie and got Tristan Jarry."
"The extraordinary mediocrity of the Pacific Division means there's still a path back to the final four, if not the Stanley Cup Final, for Edmonton," Lazerus writes. "But Bowman didn't do enough to make the Oilers feel like a real threat to the Colorados, Dallases, Minnesotas, Tampas, Carolinas and Buffalos of the world."
"The Oilers needed a scoring winger and got two defense-first players," Lazerus writes. "The Oilers needed a true No. 1 goalie and got Tristan Jarry."
"The extraordinary mediocrity of the Pacific Division means there's still a path back to the final four, if not the Stanley Cup Final, for Edmonton," Lazerus writes. "But Bowman didn't do enough to make the Oilers feel like a real threat to the Colorados, Dallases, Minnesotas, Tampas, Carolinas and Buffalos of the world."
McDavid has 35-71-106, and Draisaitl has 31-54-85. That is elite firepower, but it also proves Lazerus' point when the support scoring keeps coming and going.
Murphy helps the blue line exit cleaner and defend the slot. Dickinson can win draws, check top-six lines and survive tough five-on-five shifts.
That matters for Sunday in Vegas and the stretch after that. It matters even more against Colorado and Dallas, where one bad defensive shift can end a season.
This is why the deadline feels unfinished. Edmonton got sturdier, not scarier, and that is a tough sell when your stars already do almost everything.
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Bob Stauffer hints Oilers locker room tension with Tristan Jarry amid .888 save rate
Bob Stauffer hints Oilers locker room tension with Tristan Jarry amid .888 save rate
| POLL | ||
MARS 7|327 ANSWERS Connor McDavid faces scoring burden after Edmonton Oilers defensive trade deadline Did Connor McDavid get enough help from the Edmonton Oilers at this deadline? | ||
| Yes | 53 | 16.2 % |
| No | 274 | 83.8 % |
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