Report: Oilers acquire Murphy from Blackhawks for draft pick
According to a report form Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers have acquired veteran defenseman Connor Murphy in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.
According to Mark Spector, also of Sportsnet, a second-round draft pick is heading back to the Blackhawks, who are retaining half of Murphy’s salary cap hit of $4.4 million.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli further reported that the pick involved in the trade is in the 2028 draft.
TRADE‼️ To EDM - Connor Murphy (D) 🔁 To CHI - 2028 2nd Round Pick *CHI retains 50% of Murphy's $4.4M AAV ($2.2M). [per @SportsnetSpec & @frank_seravalli ]
Murphy, a 32-year-old right-handed defenseman, has played for the Blackhawks since being acquired from the then-Arizona Coyotes during the 2017 off-season.
This season, he’s skated an average of 16:34 per game across 60 appearances while putting up 13 points on 4 goals and 9 assists.
A first-round pick by the Coyotes at No. 20 overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, the Boston native has 47 goals and 12 assists for 173 points in 805 career regular season games.
He will immediately slot in to provide considerable help for a thin Oilers defense. Due to salary cap constraints, Edmonton has been carrying six defensemen: Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Ty Emberson and Spencer Stastney.
The Oilers rank 18th in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick, with a rate of 2.69.
Despite spending the season in a poor defensive environment in Chicago, Murphy has been on the ice for just 2.37 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 minutes, by far the lowest rate among the Blackhawks’ seven regular defensemen.
Murphy should also provide vital help to Edmonton’s penalty kill, as he’s played a big role for the Blackhawks’ shorthanded unit that ranks first in the NHL in kill rate.
Oilers PK has been a problem. Murphy plays PK1 on team with the NHL’s No. 1 PK
Hearing talks are intensifying for Edmonton to acquire Connor Murphy from Chicago.
The Oilers are in the midst of their most challenging regular season in years. After falling short against the Florida Panthers in each of the past two Stanley Cup Finals, the team was widely considered a lock to make the playoffs again this year. Instead, even in a Pacific Division that is down considerably from last year, Edmonton’s 29-24-8 record has their hold on a spot in the Western Conference playoff field tenuous.
General manager Stan Bowman previously acted to try to reverse his team’s slide this season when he sent often-maligned goalie Stuart Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Tristan Jarry, but Jarry has been either injured or ineffective since being dealt to Edmonton.