Oilers Re-Sign Dickinson and Murphy

Within the last couple of days, the Edmonton Oilers have re-signed pending UFAs Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy to 5-year contract extensions.

Dickinson, turning 31 next month, will be making $4M per season. He put up 4 points through 17 games after being traded to Edmonton from Chicago and had a face-off percentage of 49.3% throughout the whole regular season. He played 4 games in Round 1 for Edmonton, posting 3 points, two of them were a 2 goal night in Game 1 against Anaheim. He can benefit the bottom six, if he can stay healthy.

Murphy, 33, will be making $4.1M per season. He was also traded from Chicago to Edmonton, and put up 4 points through 20 games afterward. He blocked 138 shots all regular season long, and put up 3 points, and his production against Anaheim in Round 1 was pretty good for a defensive defenseman; 3 points in 6 games. Unless Stan Bowman also gets a younger defenseman, Murphy is just about slotted on the 2nd pairing.

The Blackhawks were the best penalty-killing team in the league before these players were traded, and they were vital to that shorthanded success. The Oilers struggled on the penalty kill during the regular season, and the two new additions helped improve. However, a young and fast Ducks team pulled no punches during the Playoffs, as they went a modest 8/16 on the power play against a worn-down Edmonton team that had just barely made the Playoffs and was affected by fatigue from longer Playoff runs.

These are good, solid players who know exactly what their jobs are. It’s just hard for me personally to like how long the new deals are. It’s not always about dollars; it’s the term that makes me weary. Staying younger, not too young, will be a key to extending the team’s Stanley Cup window. I totally understand Leon Draisaitl valuing familiarity in his end-of-season media availability. I don’t doubt that it could’ve played a part. That being said, Dickinson and Murphy will be 35 and 38 when these new contracts expire. Oilers fans are already sour about the remaining years in Trent Frederic’s current deal, and that one just started this past season. The salary cap is going up, so players and agents will naturally demand more money. Despite how I generally feel about the term, it’s still nice to have good players want to keep playing for your team.

With these two locked up, the Oilers now have a little bit over $7M to work with this offseason. It was recently reported that Darnell Nurse requested a trade out of Edmonton. Depending on what the return will be, that move will be much welcomed, cap space, the understatement of the century.

Jason and Connor, welcome back to Oil Country.