The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to trade defenseman Connor Murphy to the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL draft, hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported Monday.
It’s an expected ending to the 32-year-old’s time in Chicago. As the Hawks shift to a younger lineup, Murphy’s average ice time has dwindled to 16:34, his lowest since his first season with the Hawks in 2017-18.
Murphy’s name has swirled in trade rumors for some time now, so his departure shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Oilers will get a lower-pair defender who can move the puck well.
He was the longest-tenured player on the Hawks roster, having arrived from the Arizona Coyotes in a June 2017 trade for Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Murphy gained his knowledge and leadership skills from the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and others. He had been an alternate captain since the 2021-22 season.
Drafted by the Coyotes with the No. 20 pick in 2011, Murphy has 47 goals, 126 assists, 535 penalty minutes and a minus-66 rating in 805 career games — 547 of them coming with the Hawks.
He signed a four-year extension with the Hawks in August 2021 that expires at the end of this season. The Hawks will retain 50% of the remainder of his $4.4 million salary for 2025-26, Seravalli reported.