9:50 p.m.: Both teams have now officially announced the trade, with the terms corresponding with what had been previously reported.
The conditions on the 2027 first-round pick received by the Blackhawks are as follows: if Edmonton’s 2027 first-rounder is inside the top-12 of the draft order, Edmonton may choose to transfer its 2028 first-round pick to Chicago instead, to be declared prior to the commencement of the 2027 draft. Should Edmonton choose to trade its 2028 first-rounder before the 2027 trade deadline, the 2027 first-round pick will automatically transfer, unconditionally.
7:30 p.m.: Friedman reported that young Blackhawks winger Colton Dach “is another part of this trade conversation to Edmonton.” His inclusion in the deal has not yet been confirmed, but it would help explain how the Blackhawks have managed (alongside the financial aspect of the deal) to land a first-round pick in the trade.
Dach, 23, is an Edmonton native who Bowman selected No. 62 overall in the 2021 draft. The 6’4″ pivot is the brother of Kirby Dach, a Montreal Canadiens center who Bowman selected No. 3 overall at the 2019 draft. Dach has broken into the NHL as a full-time player over the last calendar year, scoring seven points in 25 games last season and nine points in 53 games this season.
Entering the season, he was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in Chicago’s system by the team at Elite Prospects, and No. 10 by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, who projected him as a future middle-six winger. Dach has averaged 11:40 time on ice per game this season.
6:18 p.m.: The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks are discussing a trade that would send veteran center Jason Dickinson to Edmonton, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move comes in the wake of today’s news, via Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton, that veteran center Curtis Lazar of the Oilers is set to miss up to four weeks with an undisclosed injury.
According to Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey, the deal is currently still being discussed, but would involve Andrew Mangiapane heading the other way, to Chicago. Moving out Mangiapane and his $3.6MM cap hit is likely viewed as necessary for the Oilers to have the breathing room to add Dickinson’s $4.25MM cap hit to their books.
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported that the Blackhawks will retain 50% of Dickinson’s deal, meaning the Oilers should be able to comfortably fit in their new player’s cap hit with Mangiapane heading to Chicago.
In addition to those two pieces, Seravalli said the “framework of what’s been discussed” between Edmonton and Chicago includes “another piece” heading to the Oilers, and a conditional draft pick heading to Chicago. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun has added that as part of the deal, the Blackhawks will receive a top-12 protected 2027 first-round pick from Edmonton in exchange for Dickinson.
Undoubtedly, the Blackhawks’ decision to take on the full freight of Mangiapane’s contract, as well as retain half of Dickinson’s deal, has contributed to the significant asset they were able to extract from the Oilers.
The Athletic’s Scott Powers reported earlier today that the Blackhawks “don’t see a point” in trading Dickinson for a marginal return. If Dickinson is indeed dealt to the Oilers, it will be the second time this week that Edmonton has added a veteran player from Chicago. The Blackhawks traded veteran defenseman Connor Murphy to the Oilers on Monday, and it’s possible that, in the process of negotiating that trade, the possibility of a Dickinson deal was also discussed.
A key factor here is the presence of Oilers GM Stan Bowman. Bowman was the one who acquired Murphy back in 2017, during Bowman’s tenure as GM of the Blackhawks.
While he was no longer GM in Chicago when the team added Dickinson, he would undoubtedly still have many connections within the team’s hockey operations infrastructure, and therefore would potentially have more detailed information on Dickinson than another GM might have access to.
The fit for Dickinson in Edmonton is relatively easy to identify. While he’s not a right-shot center like Lazar, there are stylistic similarities between the two players. Dickinson, 30, is a 6’2″ true center who is a veteran of 549 NHL games. A pending UFA, Dickinson is playing out the final year of a $4.25MM AAV deal.
Early in his tenure in Chicago, it looked as though Dickinson was reaching new heights as an offensive producer. He scored 22 goals and 35 points in his debut campaign with the Blackhawks, riding a career-high 17.5% shooting percentage to a career year, one that landed him down-ballot Selke Trophy consideration.
In the last two seasons, Dickinson’s offensive production has evaporated. In 106 NHL games over the course of 2024-25 and 2025-26, he has managed 13 goals and 29 points. But even though he hasn’t been able to sustain his prior levels of production, he remains a valuable contributor in the specific role he occupies. Dickinson wins just about half of his faceoffs, provides a physical edge, and anchors the Blackhawks’ penalty kill as its top center. When Chicago is defending a late lead or has a big defensive zone draw, more often than not, its Dickinson who hops over the boards first.
That’s the kind of set of skills Edmonton is likely looking for in advance of what it hopes will be another deep playoff run. With two of the game’s best scorers already on the roster, and one of the best offensive defensemen manning the blue line, the Oilers don’t need Dickinson to be his 22-goal, 35-point self for him to provide value in their lineup. If he can maximize his current role as an Oiler, trading for him will be more than worth the cost for Edmonton.
With Lazar’s health uncertain, it certainly makes sense to target a player of Dickinson’s mold. The two forwards occupying top spots on the depth chart with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, are not exact stylistic fits for when an injury is suffered by a defensive bottom-sixer. (Both Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson are more offensively-oriented.)
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston noted an aspect of the trade that relates to a seemingly unrelated team – the San Jose Sharks. Per the terms of last season’s Jake Walman trade, in which Edmonton surrendered a top-12 protected 2026 first-round pick to San Jose, that pick would become unprotected if Edmonton were ever to trade its 2027 first-rounder. Because they have now done so, Edmonton’s 2026 first-round pick is now owned by the Sharks without restriction.
This is likely a moot point as Edmonton is well on course to secure a playoff spot. It’s nonetheless worth noting that in the event the Oilers endure a shocking fall down the standings, the Sharks are poised to profit.
In any case, the exact details of the trade are yet to be determined. What is clear, at least, is that Bowman isn’t done trying to add veteran help to his roster, and it appears the next area of interest is adding a bottom-six, penalty-killing center.
Photos courtesy of Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Roby Jarventie and a 4th?
That would be a good solid pick up by oilers
Sam Poulin is who I would try for.
Don’t get why Edmonton would do this at all.
Same. I’ve never understood the fascination with Jason Dickinson.
Elite on the PK with Mikhayev form the main part of the best PK in the league. Excellent Face off man and defensive C. Consistently plays against the other teams #1 line. Hope this clears things up for you.
Mostly has to do with dumping the stale breadman
Edmonton trades their 1st round pick every year and has not nearly enough to show for it. A couple good defenseman but good lord it’s underwhelming
Bowman has never been known for being able to keep it in his pants. Why worry about tomorrow when you can trash your future today, Or as I call it the Bowman family creed. A 1st and 2nd for Dickinson and Murphy and also moving Dach out of the way it’s been a great deadline for the Hawks so far. Kyle on fire so far. I don’t believe they can keep any more salary though. I think their 3 spots are full now.
Hawks really don’t have much else to trade where money needs to be retained anyway. Nobody wants Foligno or Lafferty and Grelcyk only making a million bucks anyway. Mikhayev needs to be re signed IMO. So I’d let that play out. I’d give him a Donato like deal. He’s better than Donato anyway. He’s faster and more useful. Donato got more years than he deserved. He’s not a big mistake but one that might get in the way sooner rather than later. Hawks have at least 1 1st( Maybe 2) This year and 3 seconds. So If the Florida pick doesn’t convey they now have 2 1sts( Maybe 3) in 27 and 2 seconds in 28 so stocking up for the future is the smart way to go. Davidson has this set up pretty well IMO.
And older now than Donato will be in his last year of his contract.
You don’t throw away something that is one of the best in the league. You keep it. Mikhayev is quite frankly the best on the PK in this league or if not one of the best. What exactly is Donato the BEST at? Taking up oxygen? With the young talent that’s going to be parading through here in the next 4 years taking dumb penalties it might be a good idea to have one of the best penalty killers in the league. Since he’d be playing a man short most of the time you can’t really expect him to score but he still does and gets chances. I’d say that’s worth keeping. Especially as many dumb penalties as Bedard takes. It’s a good thing they shortened his stick because he used to get even more tripping and hooking penalties.
Plus, once Kantserov gets here, having Mikhayev around will be good for easing him into things.
The cost of creating cap space aka erasing mistakes is adding up for Edmonton. Admittedly there is only a few years of McDavid left & it’s win now or go home, but the meagre returns doesn’t bode well. I’d expect if you put the 2026 & 2027 1st rd picks on a table, you should be getting something back of impact. Not Dickson & a lesser Dach (& whoever they got for this yrs pick)…
Reality oilers have this year and next. If McDavid gets to his final year . You have to trade him. If he does not resign before that . He is telling you it is over.
If Edmonton was looking for a solid bottom six center, How about Ryan McLeod, 24 years old, huge body, And he’ll likely record over 50 points this season. Oh wait, Edmonton cut him loose a couple of years ago.
I am picking up, what you’re putting down. To be fair, they were offer sheeted, not cut loose.
Please do not confuse Wilf/Slash with reality. He prefers to make it up as he goes.
McLeod was traded for Matt Savoie, not offer sheeted.
Actually McLeod was traded for cap relief and Matt Savoie. McLeod makes 5M per and wouldnt fit in Edmonton. He is likely to hit 50 points again because he is playing 2nd line in BUF. He wouldn’t be 2nd line in EDM as McDavid is 1C and Draisaitl is 2C. And when they load up McDrai Nuge is 2C. Essentially they turned McLeod into Murphy Dach Savoie and Dickinson.
Davidson slowly but steadily getting rid of every horrible Bowman signing and draft pick he made for the Hawks. The list is long. like my Johnson( Top Gun)
In this trade, Davidson has ACQUIRED a horrible Bowman signing in Mangiapane.
The Hawks can more than afford to buy him out. Edmonton could not. Paying for first round picks has become the norm. The Hawks are at the point where they have to throw money away to get to the floor. So spending on guys like this are necessary.
Vlasic next then?
Hawks right now have Vlasic, Del Mastro, Kaiser and Korchinki for LD along with Grelcyk. Now Kaiser has played some RD in the past so it’s possible they keep them all. Also possible somebody has to go depending on what FA’s they want to sign or who they still draft with all the future firsts they still have. Nothing is written in stone here. I expected more from Vlasic this year. I can’t really say he’s stepped up can you? Great thing about competition. Either brings out your best or gets you a ticket out of town. Grelcyk not a long term anything so something may have to give. Depends on what you can get for who.
Possession darling may rebound with a change of scenery. He has the track record of being a decent middle 6. 3rd line on a competitor.
Pens tried to trade Grelcyk for a bag of pucks last year and no one bit
This trade is not about Dickinson. It’s about Mangiapane. This is because Dickinson is on an expiring contract and Mangiapane is not.
Bowman used all of Edmonton remaining precious cap space on a (now) AHL player who once, on another planet, has scored 35 goals. Bowman needed to find a subtle way to correct his mistake. He had to give up a 1st to do it, but he did accomplish his goal. Reading the headlines, it looks like the pick is for Dickinson. But it’s not. You don’t give up a 1st for a bottom-6 on an expiring deal.
Edmonton might just win it this yr. Ran into an all-time great team the last 2. Not going to have that problem this yr.
This year, their problem is Colorado. While the goaltending is even weaker than last year.
But before all that, they need to make the playoffs.
Colorado might be that problem this year
Bottom line, Edmonton is chasing the game, No real plan in place, It’s McDavid, And Draisaitl, And hope for the best.
The framing around dumping Mangiapane as something that had to be done, like it was some kind of burden the team had to shift, lets Bowman off the hook for being the one who signed him in the first place. He had just traded Viktor Arvidsson to the Bruins for next to nothing as a free agent who didn’t work out, then turned around and gave Mangiapane, who is virtually the same player as Arvidsson except a left shot, virtually the same contract.
They should never have let Bowman anywhere near this team.