Edmonton Oilers Acquire Help on the Blueline

Blackhawks Trade Defenceman Connor Murphy to Oilers

The Oilers are the most cap-strapped team in the NHL with around just $11,000 in cap space. However, with Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) space (Mattias Janmark), and sending a waiver-exempt player to the AHL (Isaac Howard), along with buried salary now from Andrew Mangiapane clearing waivers, these moves would leave the Oilers with a more management amount. It should be just around $200,000 in cap space to work with.

The Oilers Get a Helping Hand

The struggles with defending their own zone are well known, with Tristan Jarry taking a jab at the lack of defence in front of him before the Olympic break. Moreover, Murphy has the shut-down ability that the Oilers are looking for. He will likely find himself on the second-pairing with Darnell Nurse.

Chicago Deals UFA

The Chicago Blackhawks were likely not going to bring back Connor Murphy after his contract expired. Getting a future second-round pick was something that they likely weren’t expecting heading into the deadline. It’s a tidy piece of business by the Blackhawks, while retaining just $2.2 million for the remainder of the season.

Connor Murphy has 13 points in all 60 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, while playing around 15 minutes per game. Murphy has a 10 team no-trade clause. He has struggled in recent years with staying in the lineup, having not played more than 70 games in a season since 2022-23. Furthermore, the 32-year-old has 805 games of NHL experience in a shut down role. This is a big trade to get the week started, and the Oilers are hoping, a big trade for a run to the Stanley Cup.