An in-depth analysis of what Edmonton’s new trade acquisitions can bring to the team |
At the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, the Edmonton Oilers acquired exactly three players, and they all came from one team.
First, on March 3, they picked up defenceman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks for a second‑round pick. One day later, they circled back to Chicago to acquire forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach in exchange for Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional 2027 first‑round pick.
Looking at the types of players that the team acquired, it is evident that there was one specific area that Edmonton’s management was keen to address at this deadline: defensive play.
The need was obvious. In nine of their last 11 games, the Oilers have allowed four or more goals. Overall, they rank 27th in the NHL in goals allowed per hour on the season. Of course, a big part of this has been the wildly inconsistent performance of their goaltending, but the issues run far deeper. Per CSA Hockey, the Oilers’ skater group ranks a lowly 28th in the league in scoring chances allowed per hour, and data from Dimitri Filipovic and SportlogIQ paints a similar picture, with the Oilers sitting at 27th in slot shots allowed and 26th in inner‑slot shots allowed as of March 4.
In other words, it can’t all be pinned solely on the netminders.
Keeping that in mind, let’s take a closer look into Edmonton’s trade deadline acquisitions and examine how each player might help stabilize the team in their own end.
*All stats via EvolvingHockey, Natural Stat Trick, PuckIQ, and AllThreeZones
Connor Murphy
For years, the Oilers have needed a top-four right-defenceman for their second pair. With the arrival of Connor Murphy, that hole may finally be filled.
To begin with this analysis, here is a brief overview of some of Murphy’s key underlying numbers:
The first number that should stand out here is Murphy’s even-strength defensive impact, which ranks in the 92nd percentile. In simpler terms, what this means is that Murphy’s impact (adjusted for teammates and competition) on suppressing scoring chances is superior to 92 per cent of all NHL defencemen over the past three seasons.
In fact, Murphy’s EV Defence impact ranks third among all defencemen in 2025-26 alone. Not bad.
What exactly makes Murphy so strong defensively is interesting. On the one hand, Murphy’s controlled entry allowed percentage ranks in the 10th percentile. What this means is that Murphy is rather passive at defending the blue line, as opponents are able to carry the puck in on him more often than they can against most defencemen.
However, once the puck does get into the zone, he shuts things down quickly. First, this is evident from the fact that despite the high volume of controlled entries allowed against Murphy, he does not allow a high volume of chances off those entries, ranking above average in that metric. And where he specifically thrives is at defending the cycle.
Murphy is perhaps the textbook definition of an effective “cycle-buster.” Though he may not be the most aggressive entry defender, he is absolutely an aggressive in-zone defender. Murphy is excellent at using his size and physicality along the boards to disrupt plays and break up passing lanes. He is also superb at defending the front of the net and taking away the middle of........