{"id":568932,"date":"2026-05-07T07:42:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/568932\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T07:42:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:42:22","slug":"can-the-edmonton-oilers-afford-to-keep-this-veteran-center-or-can-they-afford-not-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/568932\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Edmonton Oilers afford to keep this veteran Center, or can they afford not to"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keep, Hold, or Fold?<\/p>\n

The Cult of Hockey continues with our post-season coverage of the Edmonton Oilers, with practically every day bringing fresh analysis. It is a series on management. \u00a0On the coaching staff. And, of course, the players.<\/p>\n

Today? Veteran Center\u2026<\/p>\n

Jason Dickinson<\/p>\n

On March 4, 2026, the Edmonton Oilers acquired Center Jason Dickinson from the Chicago Black Hawks along with F Colton Dach for F Andrew Mangiapane and a Top 12 protected 2027 First Round Draft Pick. Chicago retained 50% salary. For an Oilers club which had struggled to consistently defend all season long, and whose Penalty Kill had faltered badly, Jason Dickinson was just what the doctor ordered. Little did either side know that, ironically, complications would arise.<\/p>\n

The player arrived with the reputation as a shutdown forward whose most effective game was to defend against other team\u2019s best. At 5v5 he is generally on the right side of the puck. Historically, he has been good at defending the net front when scoring opportunities arrive. And Dickinson was part of a highly effective PK team with the Black Hawks. All stuff the Oilers had been bad at Dickinson was good at. Touchdown!<\/p>\n

An important part of all that is Dickinson\u2019s 6\u20192, 200 LB frame. He has more than enough size to navigate in the heavy going. And he plays like a big man as well, consistently going to the hard areas. By NHL EDGE standards he is an average skater. But while he is solid enough in the faceoff circle, his career 47.6% at the dot is not enough to make him your go-to guy in that department. Not the end of the world, but\u2026<\/p>\n

Jason Dickinson played 17 regular season games in Edmonton and 4 post-season matches. And for the most part, he came as advertised. Our Cult of Hockey Player Grades and Grade \u201cA\u201d Scoring Chances projects occasionally revealed a mistake or two. But relative to the team prior to him joining, it was a welcome breath of fresh air. And he also chipped in a goal and three assists.<\/p>\n

Then he got hurt.<\/p>\n

The injury occurred in the commission of the very kind of play you got the guy for, a blocked shot deep in the defensive zone that resulted in a foot\/ankle fracture. Dickinson sat out the balance of the regular season. He then absolutely gutted-out the post-season series against Anaheim. Clearly compromised, he still contributed in a meaningful way, with two goals and an assist in the only 4 games he was able to play.<\/p>\n

The injury was not his fault, of course. And it was admirable as all hell how he attempted to battle through it. But hardly ideal. At all. And sadly, this is where the story to-date ends for Dickinson. The loss in Game 6. Which bring us to today.<\/p>\n

Keep, Hold or Fold?<\/p>\n

The answer is relatively easy on one hand\u2026Keep! You want to hold into this guy. Stan Bowman spent valuable assets to get Dickinson. Good asset management
would be to retain him. The Bottom Six and the Oilers Penalty Kill desperately need defence-first guys like Dickinson. He is also in the same age group
as your core. And steps onto the team bus every day with a trunk full of intangibles. The kind of guy you love to have in your organization.<\/p>\n

However,\u2026he is also a pending UFA.<\/p>\n

Stan Bowman\u2019s best opportunity to avoid this will be prior to Free Agency. I am worried (and so should Bowman) that on the open market, Dickinson\u2019s price-tag may become too dear for Edmonton\u2019s budget. At thirty years old, this will be Dickinson\u2019s best opportunity to earn a premium paycheck for his family. And
who would begrudge him of that? Look at Dickinson\u2019s contracts since 2015-16. He made less than $1m\/year through 2019. He did not make over $2m\/year until 2021. And he has only enjoyed two years over $4m\/year (the 2 x $8.5m deal he is just coming off). It is a thin UFA crop this season, and the salary cap is going up. Hmmm.<\/p>\n

I really, really admire this player. But how much is too much? Can you get him for $5m? If not, remember: This is a guy who has scored in double digits once (20, in 2023-24). He has had over 30 points only twice. And as an NHL regular, he has only been a Plus-player three times. And then there is the term issue. Ideally, you sign him for two. But other clubs will offer 3+.<\/p>\n

The other question is: If you do sign him, who is he blocking? The obvious answer would be Josh Samanski. Dickinson is certainly not \u201cold\u201d at 30, but nor is he 24. This club needs an infusion of youthful exuberance. Perhaps Dickinson starts as your 3C and Samanski your 4. But then what if Dickinson becomes a $5m\/year 4C? Or does that matter, in the McDavid window?<\/p>\n

In his post-season media avail, Dickinson spoke glowingly of his experience in Edmonton, with the fans, and the organization. A Canadian-born player, one
would assume he would be just fine staying North of the border. He told the press he would be interested. That\u2019s the \u201cgood news\u201d.<\/p>\n

But I can foresee a bidding war for his services that the Oilers may not be able to afford to win OR lose.<\/p>\n

This article is not AI generated.<\/p>\n

\"Leavins<\/a><\/p>\n

Leavins Cult of Hockey<\/p>\n

Recently, at The Cult\u2026<\/p>\n

STAPLES: The Edmonton Oilers plans for Goaltending in 2026-27<\/a><\/p>\n

LEAVINS: Keep, Hold or Kick CEO Jeff Jackson<\/a><\/p>\n

Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.<\/p>\n

Do not miss the news you need to know \u2014 add EdmontonJournal.com<\/a>\u00a0and EdmontonSun.com<\/a>\u00a0to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep, Hold, or Fold? The Cult of Hockey continues with our post-season coverage of the Edmonton Oilers, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[233,1824,43363,11097,5862,198,146,5300,5,4446,7154,341,4,24,4522,6269],"class_list":["post-568932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton-oilers","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-andrew-mangiapane","tag-chicago-black-hawks","tag-colton-dach","tag-david-bloom","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-edmontonoilers","tag-hockey","tag-jason-dickinson","tag-josh-samanski","tag-mcdavid","tag-nhl","tag-oilers","tag-post-season","tag-stan-bowman"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116532173487497996","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}