The emotions are flowing in Oil Country.

After a comeback victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, which still left an uncertain taste in fans’ mouths, Stan Bowman continued to be active on the trade front. Last night, he added Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. It was his second trade of the week with Chicago, after acquiring Connor Murphy earlier.

It’s clear the Oilers have a goal in mind when making these deals: defence.

Dickinson is one of the top shutdown third-line centres in the NHL. He takes on tough matchups every night and is another part of the top penalty-killing unit in the NHL.

Dach seems like more of an extra addition to the deal, to get value coming back since they dumped Andrew Mangiapane. He’s still young, 23, so we shall see if he can live up to his potential.

That’s another couple of forwards added to a group that is looking to play a more complete 200-foot game. It’s also a group that has been jumbled around upon their return from the Olympic break. Furthermore, players like Matthew Savoie, Jack Roslovic and Trent Frederic have hit the ground running, giving Knoblauch that extra flexibility. 

However, the one constant is the top line of Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. On........

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