Dickinson likes the idea of playing on a team led by forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and considered a Stanley Cup contender as long as the two are in Edmonton. Dickinson experienced the postseason only twice while playing for the Dallas Stars (2015-21), Vancouver Canucks (2021-22) and Blackhawks (2022-26) before the trade.
“That’s huge, that’s the dream,” Dickinson said. “Every year I watched the playoffs, going back to Chicago, I knew what we were doing, I knew what I was a part of, but it just never felt like we were going to experience that soon.
“So, it’s a lot different, where this summer I felt a little bitter and jealousy a bit that we weren’t there (Stanley Cup Final) and certainly could have been. It didn’t come together this year, but now I get five years with this group that can challenge for a Cup, every year.”
Dickinson scored two goals in a 4-3 win in Game 1 of the first round against Anaheim but was hampered by a leg injury throughout the best-of-7 series and had to sit out two of the six games. He sustained the injury blocking a shot in a 5-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on April 8, which kept him out of the last three games of the regular season.
“I broke my fibula, I fractured it right at my ankle bone,” Dickinson said. “It wasn’t weight-bearing, but it was very swollen and quite painful to put into a hockey skate.”
Dickinson did not require surgery and expects to be healthy by training camp for next season.
“It just healed naturally,” he said. “It was all in place, there was no concern, so they said to let it heal the way it needs to heal and do the rehab that’s necessary.”
With Edmonton, Dickinson is expected to take on a third-line center role and likely be part of the penalty kill. His absence was noticeable against the series against Anaheim; the Oilers allowed eight power-play goals in 16 short-handed situations for a playoff-worst 50 percent efficiency.
Edmonton is the only team in the NHL without a coach; Kris Knoblauch was fired May 14, two weeks after it was eliminated.
“Being able to come into the team and the group from the beginning will be better for me to get acclimated with the systems and what the vision is for myself and my line, rather than trying to hop in on the fly and try to blend with what’s already going on,” Dickinson said. “The biggest thing will be the PK; I’ll be able to really sink my teeth into that, work with the coaches and improving that and being a consistent contributor to the success of that. I don’t know what the plan with be as far as deployment 5-on-5, but I’ve always loved the hard matchups, I want to go up against the best.”
Selected by the Stars in the first round (No. 29) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Dickinson has 172 points (75 goals, 97 assists) in 566 regular-season games for the Stars, Canucks, Blackhawks and Oilers and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 44 playoff games.
As a defensive forward, Dickinson hopes to make things easier for McDavid and Draisaitl next season by playing against top lines.
“Obviously having Connor and Leon, they’re capable of handling those situations, but if I’m able to go out there and give them the easier matchups, then that’s what I would love to do,” Dickinson said. “I’m not your typical forward maybe that everybody is thinking they want to put up points and they want to play with Connor and Leon, I want to make it easier on them. I want them to make sure they have the best opportunity to go out there and win games on the score sheet and I’m happy to get the job done elsewhere.”
