Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman still has work to do this summer. So far, the team’s top exec has made several offseason moves to help improve his roster. A majority of these new signings have, however, come in defense and between the pipes. As a result, the Oilers could still use one more quality forward.
According to PuckPedia.com, Edmonton has nearly $5 million in projected cap space. These extra funds could certainly be used to address this positional need. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell is now reporting that the Oilers may target a trade to land a new forward. This is mostly due to a lack of quality free agents remaining in the market at this point.
While Edmonton and Bowman can go in various directions, Mitchell believes the Oilers will target an NHL team with plenty of forward depth. The Montreal Canadiens would certainly fit in this category. According to Mitchell, Edmonton could be eyeing a move for Kirby Dach. The former highly rated center/winger just recently signed a one-year, $3.6 million extension to remain in Montreal.
Nevertheless, the reporter believes that the Canadiens could still look to offload the versatile forward soon. If so, the Edmonton Oilers could pounce. “He isn’t a full-time center, but if the Oilers plan to run McDavid-Draisaitl on the same line, Dach would be an option for strong-side faceoffs on the second line and has the potential to be an offensive difference-maker if he can stay healthy,” writes Mitchell.
Edmonton Oilers Recently Re-Signed Kirby Dach’s Brother
GettyThe Edmonton Oilers could look to pry Kirby Dach away from the Montreal Canadiens.
Interestingly, the Edmonton Oilers recently signed Kirby’s brother, Colton, to a two-year deal. Colton was acquired by the club from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the previous trade deadline. The fellow forward played eight regular-season and five playoff games with the Oilers this past season. The Dach brothers grew up just outside of Edmonton and were childhood fans of the hometown Oilers.
NHL insider and Canadiens expert Marco D’Amico recently revealed that Montreal was “measuring interest” in Kirby Dach around the league before they re-signed him. According to the reporter, NHL clubs took notice of the versatile forward’s solid play during the recent postseason. “I felt like a lot of teams kind of perked up and noticed him in the playoffs when he had that one bad game against Tampa Bay and then proceeded to have a pretty strong rest of the series,” said D’Amico.
Edmonton Expected to Target a Young Forward
As D’Amico pointed out, injuries are the biggest concern regarding Dach. The reporter believes that if the center/winger can remain healthy, he “maybe tops out at a 40-point player.” While this may not exactly be star-level statistics, the Edmonton Oilers could benefit from a middle-six forward reaching this tally.
Due to various injuries, Dach was limited to just 37 regular-season games during the 2025-26 season. During his NHL career, he has only managed to play at least 65 games in a campaign just once (the 2021-22 season).
Dach, however, is not the only young forward to be linked with the Oilers. Felix Unger Sörum from the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins’ former prospect Matthew Poitras have also been named as potential summer targets. Edmonton is likely to target a younger forward in the near future, rather than another aging veteran.
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