The Edmonton Oilers are being urged to make one more move before the 2026-27 season starts. So far, general manager Stan Bowman has made several acquisitions to help improve his roster. Edmonton added proven veterans such as Ryan Shea and Frederik Andersen via free agency. The club also offloaded Darnell Nurse and brought in Devon Levi in summer trades.
While the Oilers roster is fairly packed at the moment, The Athletic’s Allen Mitchell hopes that Bowman brings in one more forward. According to the writer, Edmonton should go all out to land Kirill Marchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets. After all, the Russian is a budding star and will earn just $3.8 million this season. Nevertheless, Mitchell is aware that a trade for Marchenko would be difficult.
Because of this, the beat writer believes the Edmonton Oilers should be looking to add a young, right-handed center from the Dallas Stars. “The population of right-handed centers who could be available and move the needle as outscorers is very small,” writes Mitchell. “Dallas Stars right-handed center Arttu Hyry would appear to be a solid acquisition option for a depth line. He’s 25 and wasn’t used against elites but did play over two minutes per game on the penalty kill.”
The versatile Hyry has just 25 total NHL appearances with Dallas over the last two seasons. He, however, has impressed in the AHL. The center/winger has 68 points in 94 games with the Texas Stars since the start of the 2024-25 campaign. According to Daily Faceoff’s projections, he is not expected to make Dallas’ opening night roster.
Arttu Hyry Would be a Useful Addition for the Edmonton Oilers
Mitchell’s mentioning of Hyry’s penalty kill ability is noteworthy. Oilers NOW host Bob Stauffer recently claimed that the Edmonton Oilers should add a forward who can be useful while shorthanded. The podcast host’s assertion comes as Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark are set to miss training camp due to injuries. Both of these forwards have been used on Edmonton’s penalty kill.
While Hyry does not have a ton of NHL experience, he has shown glimpses of potential. On top of killing penalties, the forward can also win faceoffs. In fact, he has a 58.7% win rate on the dot in 225 total NHL chances. Although not a huge sample size, the Oilers only had one player reach this figure last season, and he is no longer on the roster (Curtis Lazar).
Dallas recently rewarded Hyry with a two-year, $1.75 million ($875k AAV) deal earlier this summer. The first year of the agreement is a two-way deal, yet the final season of the contract is a one-way deal. The Edmonton Oilers could acquire the center/winger soon to take advantage of the versatile contract.
Edmonton Announces New Forward Signing
This is not the first time that Mitchell has urged Stan Bowman and the Edmonton Oilers to acquire another young center. The writer previously suggested that Felix Unger Sörum, Matt Poitras, and Ethan Procyszyn could all become targets for Edmonton. The Oilers may very well use a defenseman, such as Spencer Stastney or Atro Leppänen, as trade bait.
It remains to be seen if Bowman signing Alex Formenton ends Edmonton’s pursuit of another forward. The Oilers announced the controversial addition on September 9. Formenton was previously charged, and later acquitted in a highly publicized sexual assault case in 2025.
Oilers Urged to Target Dallas Stars Forward to Fix Key Issue