HIGHLIGHTS
- Edmonton trades 2028 second-round pick to Chicago for Connor Murphy
- Blackhawks retaining 50% of Murphy’s $4.4M cap hit
- Read below for full trade details and Murphy’s impact on Oilers’ defense
The Edmonton Oilers made their first move ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
Edmonton acquired defenseman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for a 2028 second-round pick, according to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The Blackhawks are retaining 50% of Murphy’s $4.4 million cap hit.
Murphy will cost the Oilers $2.2 million against the cap through the end of this season. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The 32-year-old right-handed defenseman has four goals and nine assists in 60 games this season while averaging 16:34 of ice time per game. He’s been with Chicago since 2017 when he was acquired from Arizona.
Murphy brings defensive stability to an Oilers team that’s allowed the fifth-most goals in the NHL this season. Edmonton has given up 203 goals overall and 144 at even strength, second-most in the league.
The six-foot-four Murphy is a stay-at-home defenseman who blocks shots and kills penalties. He’s registered 100-plus blocks in all but two of his 12 NHL seasons. He’s also been a key piece of Chicago’s penalty kill unit, which ranks first in the league at 85.71%.
Edmonton’s penalty kill sits seventh-worst at 76.92%. Murphy should help shore that up.
Murphy hasn’t played meaningful hockey in his NHL career outside of the 2020 bubble playoffs. He’s spent over a decade grinding through rebuilds in Arizona and Chicago without complaining.
Blackhawks beat writer Charlie Roumeliotis summed up what Murphy has meant to Chicago:
The Oilers placed Mattias Janmark on long-term injured reserve Sunday and waived Andrew Mangiapane to create cap space for the move. They’ll need to send a player to the AHL to officially absorb Murphy’s cap hit.
Murphy’s arrival as a right-handed shot should allow Jake Walman to move back to his natural left side. Edmonton has been carrying just six defensemen due to cap constraints.
This is GM Stan Bowman’s second attempt to fix the Oilers’ problems this season. He traded goalie Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh in December for Tristan Jarry, but that hasn’t worked out. Jarry has posted an .863 save percentage since joining Edmonton.
Murphy has 47 goals and 126 assists for 173 points in 805 career games with Chicago and Arizona. The Dublin, Ohio native was drafted 20th overall by the Coyotes in 2011.
The Oilers are 29-24-8 and sit third in the Pacific Division. They fell short in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons and were expected to make another deep playoff run this year.
Instead, they’re just barely hanging onto a playoff spot heading into the final stretch. This move addresses a clear need without costing significant future assets.
The trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. ET. Edmonton could have more moves coming.
