At the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, the Edmonton Oilers made two different trades with the Chicago Blackhawks. The marquee piece in one of them was Jason Dickinson, while Edmonton brought aboard Connor Murphy in the other. It is quite reasonable to say both of them should be re-signed. With Murphy, the Oilers may need a Darnell Nurse whisperer for one more season; with Dickinson, the Oilers felt his absence in the playoffs against Anaheim.
The Dickinson trade brought around one other piece, however, in local kid Colton Dach. Coming from a family that also produced Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach, and NAIT Ooks defender Callie Dach, Colton is talented in his own right. His biggest impacts come in ways not many other Oilers generated enough of in 2025–26.
Even though he’s not much of a scorer, Dach has earned a new contract. Let’s take a look at what he’s done to justify a new deal, and how much it should be for. There’s also intriguing possibilities to consider by having him on the 2026–27 Oilers roster.
Dach’s time in Edmonton has featured an edge few other Oilers bring
Dach didn’t play a lot of games as an Oiler following the trade deadline. An injury limited him to just eight regular season contests, though he did play five of the six games in the playoffs series against the Anaheim Ducks. Focusing solely on the regular season games, he made the most of every minute he was given in those.
Averaging just a tick over 10 minutes per night, Dach put up two goals and two assists. Four points in eight games is a 41-point pace over the course of a full season, which is solid production from a bottom-six forward. He also stayed out of the penalty box, not once putting the Oilers shorthanded. His only penalty minutes came via a fight with Vancouver Canucks defenceman Elias Pettersson.
Already, there’s a lot to like about Dach. Depth scoring, discipline, and someone the coach can trust with double-digit minutes nightly were not plentiful in Edmonton this season. However, there’s one main reason the Oilers need to keep Dach: the hit parade.
Dach averaged nearly four hits per game, registering 30 hits all told. That’s more than Evan Bouchard posted over a full 82-game season, and Dach did that in just eight games. If you’re curious about the season-long pace Dach had, in a full 82 games he would have finished with more than 300 hits.
Vasily Podkolzin was the only Oiler to even get in the ballpark of that number, ending his season at 242. Trent Frederic, Darnell Nurse, and Ty Emberson were the only other three to crack triple-digits. The Oilers in 2025–26 sorely lacked a physical edge to their game, which Dach brought in spades. A full season of heavy play from Dach might be the tonic this team needs moving forward.
There’s a lot of options to roll with if Dach is in the lineup
What the numbers say about Dach is that he can, in a pinch, play higher than the fourth line if necessary. A 41-point pace is decent third-line production, all things equal. Having Dach on the fourth line becomes a luxury, which in the NHL, luxury often gets you far because of how versatile it can be.
One option is to keep him on the fourth line, and pair him with like-minded guys. Make it a full line of worker bees, who will bulldoze any opposing puck-carrier and then chip in some goals-for here and there. Filling in the blanks using this past season’s roster, let’s say Dach plays with Curtis Lazar and Mattias Janmark.
Another option would be to try elevating him to the third line more often. In this scenario, Dach acts as both a deterrent, and a complement to his linemates. Put him next to Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen, and they may work splendid together.
Several other fourth-line combos exist. Perhaps the most intriguing would be if forward Connor Clattenburg were called back up next season. A fourth line of Frederic, Dach, and Clattenburg would quite quickly wear down their opponents, which is what a fourth line is supposed to do. If it takes 500 hits to do it, then that’s what it takes; hockey is a physically-demanding sport, especially come playoff time.
Re-signing Dach is a low-risk bet in terms of the salary cap
One key detail does stand out, in the keep-or-let-go debate. Since Dach only played a combined 13 games in orange and blue, the Oilers have an advantage with his next contract. Dach wasn’t playing high up the lineup in Chicago, either, so it’s not like he’s going to be commanding several million dollars. The front-office would likely also get a hometown discount from the St. Albert product.
Dach enters restricted free agency with his cap hit in the most recent three seasons being $825,000. And though Dach played well to start his Edmonton tenure, he’s still played fewer than 100 NHL games and has tallied just 20 points to date. If there’s any raise on his next contract, it’s likely only going to be $200,000 to $300,000 at most.
Knowing what we know about how his Edmonton tenure has started, this is a prime opportunity. With the right cap hit, a short term, and given his young age, GM Stan Bowman can hit a home run. Bowman already got a base hit by drafting Dach while still running the Blackhawks.
The upper limit should probably be about $1.5M, but if Dach can be had for $1.1M or less, do it. Take that offer, and run for home, because that’s value you can’t easily get. Here’s hoping that happens, and the local kid is back home to stay.
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