Corey Perry is becoming the latest player to adequately move up the lineup and successfully fulfill a top-six role wing role for the Edmonton Oilers this season.

Perry joined a group of Oilers — highlighted by Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod — thanks to scoring for the second time in as many games in a 4-3 overtime win in Dallas on Saturday. He scored his second-period goal by crashing to the net while riding shotgun next to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

“It was pretty fun,” Perry said before laughing. “They’re two tremendous players. They see the ice very well. I was the beneficiary on that goal.

“I’m just trying to give them time and space.”

Scorey Perry 🚨 pic.twitter.com/YR7V36kIfJ

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 17, 2024

Add Perry’s recent breakthrough to soon-to-be career campaigns from Foegele and McLeod — to say nothing of other potential fill-ins like Dylan Holloway — and the Oilers have plenty of options for their last top-six forward spot. Enough options that they could surely get by without acquiring a scoring winger before the March 8 trade deadline.

That shouldn’t be the mindset of the team’s deep thinkers in management, though.

There’s a lot to like about this Edmonton team, which has won 19 of their last 22 even with a 3-3 record since the All-Star break. One of those things is the offensive options among their top-nine forwards.

The main four speak for themselves. McDavid remains the league’s best player despite — shockingly — not leading the scoring race. Draisaitl was the league MVP four years ago. Zach Hyman just keeps getting better. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins does it all.

Throw in Evander Kane, who when healthy and on his game brings a mix of offensive touch and brute force that few in the sport can, and the Oilers should be set from Nos. 1-5.

The sixth forward — in this case Perry — was put with the two big dogs on Saturday.

“We felt to balance our scoring that Corey would be a good complement to Leon and Connor,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I thought it was a good game from all three of them.”

Finding the right piece for McDavid and Draisaitl isn’t usually a requirement since they typically don’t play together at five-on-five.

That’s where things get interesting.

Foegele is having a wonderful season, without question the best of three since being acquired from Carolina for Ethan Bear in a July 2021 trade. He has 24 points five-on-five, tied for fourth among Oilers with Nugent-Hopkins in that category.

But Foegele tends to run ice cold from a production standout as evidenced by Saturday representing his eighth straight pointless game. Factor in the chemistry he has with McLeod, and he’d be better suited on the third line on a Stanley Cup-contending team.

As for McLeod, he’s a centre. It’s the position everyone within the organization has envisioned him playing. It’s the position he likes. That role isn’t there for him on the first two lines anytime soon, barring injury.

And when it comes to Perry, he wasn’t signed by the Oilers in late January to be a top-six winger with any degree of regularity. Oilers GM Ken Holland tabbed him for being a pest, a playoff-style player and a depth power-play option.

Perry’s career is at least worthy of Hockey Hall of Fame discussion. He’s won a Cup and been to the final three times in losing efforts. He won the Hart and Rocket Richard Trophies in 2011 when he was in his prime. That was a while ago. Expecting Perry to hang in a high-powered offensive spot often when he’s 38 — he turns 39 in May — is a disservice to him and the team.

Think of the Oilers with the means to use Foegele, McLeod and Perry in the bottom six. Now we’re talking.

Which is why Holland, hockey operations CEO Jeff Jackson and company need to take their best cut to try to connect on a big swing for someone to play above those guys in the lineup. The best option here appears to be Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jake Guentzel, a player to whom they’ve been linked but someone who has a 12-team no-trade list.

It might seem like management should have more important needs to address this considering the Oilers have struggled defensively after returning from the All-Star break. They’ve allowed at least three goals in each of their six games, something they didn’t do for 14 straight contests heading into the respite.

Sound defensive play often wins championships more than offensive firepower, after all. Positions like a depth centre (ideally a righty) and another blueliner (ideally a top-four guy and someone who can play the right side) would be worthwhile to improve. (Can you imagine Chris Tanev on his team?!)

Upgrading those areas would be helpful.

Getting a No. 4 centre shouldn’t be difficult or costly, but at least the Oilers can patchwork that spot with Holloway or Derek Ryan if something falls through. And there is some recent proof of concept that this sextet on defence can get the job done even if last year’s playoffs might leave people skeptical.

While we’re talking about the roster, forget about goaltending behind Stuart Skinner.

Saturday represented one of Calvin Pickard’s worst appearances as an Oiler as he allowed three goals on 27 shots and couldn’t squeeze a Mason Marchment shot, which led to a third Stars goal by Matt Duchene. It was still a satisfactory showing and Pickard’s overall body of work — a .910 save percentage in 10 games — has been magnificent. The Oilers also have Jack Campbell and Olivier Rodrigue in the minors.

From this vantage point, the essential move Oilers management can make before the trade deadline is at the top of the lineup. Adding another top-six forward to this group is just as necessary — if not more so — than doing anything else.

Such a move would provide a safeguard against injuries. It would add to the depth, so much so that Connor Brown — the player signed in the offseason to assume that role — might be relegated to the press box.

It would also make capable forwards like Foegele, McLeod and Perry bottom-sixers — ready to fill in at a moment’s notice rather than being counted on all the time.

And that’s the sign of a great team, one primed to win it all.

(Photo of Corey Perry: Jeff Curry / USA Today)