Keep, Hold, or Fold?
The Cult of Hockey continues our post-season coverage of the Edmonton Oilers, with an ongoing series on Management. The coaching staff. And, of course, the players.
Today? Veteran D-man…
Connor Murphy
On March 2, 2026, Connor Murphy was dealt from the Chicago Black Hawks to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2028 draft. Chicago also retained 50% salary in the deal.
It was one of those trades where Murphy make an immediate and obvious impact on the Edmonton lineup. While it took him a little bit to settle in with his eventual-regular partner Darnell Nurse, Murphy made the Oilers better right away deep in their on end as well as on the bumbling penalty kill. The latter should not have been a big surprise, as Murphy was a part of the league’s #1 PK in Chicago when he was dealt. His wingspan, his stick, rugged physicality and raw hockey smarts were obvious pluses 4v5.
In the regular season Connor Murphy and Darnell Nurse played over 289 minutes together at 5v5 during which the Nurse-Murphy tandem outshot the other guys 119-96 and out-scored them 8-6 (NST). The playoffs were a slightly different story for the pair, although I felt that Murphy and Jake Walman were the best Oilers D against Anaheim. It is fair to point out, however, how poor Edmonton’s PK was in the playoffs. And Murphy wears some of that.
Size matters, and Murphy brings that in abundance. At 6’4 212 LB, he is a big, solid man. Better still, he is more than happy to throw it around…be that in the commission of punishing opposing players, winning battles along the wall, or defending his goalie’s crease. More, please! And he has had 100 Hits and 100 Blocks in twelve consecutive seasons. A model of consistency.
You do not acquire Murphy for offensive production. He was 1-3-4 in 20 regular season games in Edmonton, 2-1-3 in 6 post-season games. And he has a total of 48 goals and 177 points in his 825-game career. But he moves ok for a big man and has a decent first pass.
So, Keep, Hold or Fold?
Sign the man, for the love of God. When? Yesterday!
The Edmonton Oilers have not had a big, right-shot D-man of this description (big, nasty defender, who can move the puck a bit) since Adam Larsson played here. About the only time it has been filled capably on the second pairing was by Cody Ceci (for a while, and obviously not the same player type). It has been a problem spot for the franchise. So, you will take Connor Murphy on this club all day long. And since Stan Bowman (previously Murphy’s GM in the Windy City) already spent a value piece to acquire him, it would be solid asset management to retain the guy. Right?
Two problems…
-One, Murphy was a rental, an expiring UFA in a league where the cap is about to go up by $8.9m. He is coming off a four-year deal in Chicago that carried with it a $4.4m cap hit. Given the meager crop of unrestricted free agents (at least in terms of quality) it is not hard to imagine someone offering him $5m + term. Over-pay? O.K. But I expect prices to end up higher than forecast this summer.
-Two, Murphy is 33. And the former First Round Draft Pick (twentieth overall in 201) has a lot of miles on him: 840 NHL Games, regular season and playoffs. That’s not old…but it ain’t young, either. D-men in this league tend to start to regress by age 32. And Murphy was not a burner to begin with. You have to be wary of the wheels coming off.
However, if Edmonton tried to replace Murphy, they would almost certainly have to expend even more draft capital since the UFA market is thin gruel and there is no one that fits Murphy’s description in Bakersfield or anywhere else in the organization for that matter.
Why? The guy you want is here already.
So, lock him up. Lock him up now.
This article is not AI generated.
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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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