The Edmonton Oilers begin a crucial season on Tuesday night.
They’re in one of the five NHL games in action on the opening evening of the season, and it’s the start of a pivotal point in the Oilers’ history.
Much of the offseason noise has been about Connor McDavid’s future. How much longer will he be in Edmonton?
The reality is that the Oilers can only do so much to impact the years beyond this one. All they can really do in the here and now is try and win games to maximize the fact that at least for right now, they have the best player in hockey on their team.
That could mean they have to continue making moves to improve, and the current roster construction in particular is lacking one thing: a right-shot center.
That has brought up the names both of Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach and Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright.
Oilers’ Kirby Dach Rumors
In a new 32 Thoughts column on Tuesday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has linked the Oilers to Dach.
“Edmonton has no right-shot centres,” Friedman writes. “That’s why you hear a lot of Kirby Dach (plus his history with Stan Bowman).”
Dach is a fascinating player, having been the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was viewed at the time as a potential star, but he has instead settled into more of a contributing role.
In 2025-26 with Montreal, Dach was only healthy enough to play in 37 games. He had eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. He also had 53 hits and 30 blocked shots.
Dach has certainly embraced the part of his role that calls for physicality, but that hasn’t helped him last full seasons on the ice, either.
A trade for Dach by Edmonton would almost be asking for a guy who is going to miss part of the season. The Oilers would be hoping that Dach would at least be around for the most important games.
And there is something to be said for at least having a righty center option — there are certain matchup situations where that could definitely come in handy.
What About Shane Wright?
This is what Friedman wrote about the Oilers’ pursuit of Wright:
“They also took a long look at Shane Wright, but it didn’t get to the finish line. Would have liked to see that fit.”
Wright remains with Seattle, who drafted him No. 4 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Still just 22, Wright is coming off a season in which he played 74 games and had 12 goals with 15 assists.
He had a better year in 2024-25, with 19 goals and 25 assists (44 points) in 79 games.
Wright also has some defensive intrigue, having blocked a combined 121 shots over the past two seasons and also dished out a combined 105 hits across those two seasons.
Friedman’s language here suggests the chance at a Wright trade may have passed Edmonton by, though.
Oilers Have Reason to Trade for Canadiens’ Kirby Dach, Kraken’s Shane Wright