Oilers' GM Stan Bowman locks up power forward: 'A very nice deal'

The Edmonton Oilers locked up Colton Dach on a two-year extension Sunday, keeping the power forward around at $1.2 million a year.

That number matters. Dach carried an $825,000 cap hit this past season, so Edmonton just bet on him getting better, not just staying put.

He arrived in Edmonton almost as a footnote. The Oilers landed him in the deal that sent a first-round pick to Chicago for centre Jason Dickinson.

Chicago ate half of Dickinson's $4.25 million cap hit in that trade, and Andrew Mangiapane's contract went out the door with him.

Across 61 games this season split between two organizations, Dach put up 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points, with a minus-15 rating and a game-winning goal to his name.

The recent stretch tells a better story. Over his last 10 games, Dach posted 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points and sat at plus-2, a real shift from where his season number sits.

He made the postseason roster too. In 5 playoff games, Dach had 1 assist and no goals, getting shifts against Anaheim as Edmonton fought through its bracket.

Is $1.2 million a lot for a 23-year-old with 13 points on the year? Not even close. This is a bargain, and Stan Bowman knows it.

Stan Bowman's history with Dach comes full circle

Bowman is now the general manager in Edmonton. Back in 2022, he ran the draft table in Chicago and took Dach 62nd overall.

Chicago moved on from him this year anyway. The word out of Edmonton was that the Blackhawks front office wanted picks from more recent classes, not holdovers from Bowman's old regime.

So Bowman ends up with his own pick, on his own terms, for barely more than league minimum. Call it a reunion nobody saw coming.

On the ice, Dach paired with fellow power forward Trent Frederic to create real problems on the forecheck during his short run in Edmonton.

Both faded once playoff ice time tightened, riding fourth-line minutes instead of the bigger role they earned during the regular season.

Mike Babcock takes over behind Edmonton's bench for a full season now, and how he deploys size like Dach and Frederic will say plenty about this team's identity.

At $1.2 million for two years, this contract barely registers on the salary cap. But what happens if Dach's production climbs and Edmonton has to find him real minutes in a crowded bottom six?