Oilers Sign Connor Murphy To Long-Term Contract
According to a team press release, the Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Connor Murphy.
His deal will last five-years at $4.1MM per year, which will pay him $20.5MM total until 2031, when he’ll turn 38 years old. Details of the contract include a full no-movement clause from years one through three, when it’ll open up to a 16-team approved trade list in years four through five, per Puckpedia.
The 33-year-old right-shot defenseman spent 20 games in Edmonton, scoring four points and adding three in six playoff games after being traded north of the border by the Blackhawks on the last year of a four-year, $17.6MM ($4.4MM AAV) contract. In Chicago, Murphy played 60 games this past season before the trade, scoring 13 points in his ninth season with the club, leading the Blackhawks in blocks (87) and notched the second-highest short-handed ice time per game (2:57) at the time of the deal. Notably, he saw his usage on the blueline increase drastically, going from playing 16:34 of ice time per game in Chicago to 20:27 with Edmonton.
His game profiled as a player who could step up, skate, and defend well against a tough matchup; however, AFPAnalytics had his projection at a mere two years, making $3.6MM a season. Murphy cashed in for what is surely to be his final major contract. He joined fellow teammate from Chicago, forward Jason Dickinson, who the Oilers also extended not long ago at a five-year deal for $20MM.
Originally the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft, Murphy was selected by the Arizona Coyotes organization. He was one of thirty players in the NHL in 2025-26 who were originally drafted by the Coyotes, who are no longer an active team.
Murphy spent two seasons with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting before officially joining the NHL in the 2013-14 season. He ended up playing four years with his initial team before the Coyotes sent him in a package deal to Chicago for Niklas Hjalmarsson in the summer of 2017, just one year into the six-year, $23.1MM ($3.85MM) deal he signed with Arizona. In Chicago, tanking years with the Blackhawks proved not favorable, as Murphy saw just one playoff run in the Bubble in 2020. Extending to stay in 2022, he remained with Chicago up until this year’s trade deadline, where they retained 50% of his cap hit and took in a 2028 second-round pick from the Oilers for him.
In committing $8MM to their two former Blackhawk acquisitions, the Oilers have just $7.4MM in cap space remaining for the summer of 2026. As they approach July 1st, they still have notable free agent forwards to assess who remains with the team in Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Kasperi Kapanen, Jack Roslovic, Max Jones, and RFA Colton Dach.
Six defenseman are currently under the Oilers’ books, but one particular player can add money for Edmonton to utilize for their 2026-27 roster. Darnell Nurse, who requested a trade, might force the Oilers to take on a portion of the $9.25MM cap hit that he’s owed for four more years in the event a deal is agreed upon. Regardless, Edmonton will free up more space as the Oilers try to maximize the cup-contention window of Connor McDavid, after two-straight Stanley Cup finals losses were followed up with a first-round exit this past playoffs to the Anaheim Ducks.
More to come.
Afternoon Notes: Murphy, Expiring Coaches, Raddysh
The Edmonton Oilers continue to work with Connor Murphy on a new agreement, Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports.
Having forked over a long-term deal to center Jason Dickinson which has him signed in Edmonton to age 35, general manager Stan Bowman showed willingness to do whatever it takes to keep his mid-season acquisitions and not lose them for nothing. Time will tell if that’s the same with Murphy, 33, another former Blackhawk who will have plenty of suitors if he makes it to July 1 as a steady 6’4” righty on the back-end.
According to Spector, the new coach hire, possibly the controversial Mike Babcock, is not a primary factor for Murphy in his decision. Facing the opportunity to hit the market for the first time in his 13-year career, the Boston native is surely weighting his options, as he was a solid fit with the Oilers but falling short in the first round is a far cry from previous seasons where Edmonton was on the cusp of a Stanley Cup.
AFP Analytics projects that Murphy is worth a two-year pact worth around $3.6MM per season. Even from the Oilers’ perspective, the veteran has lost a step and at least considering other options would be wise, however, if Bowman’s five-year contract to Dickinson is any indication, he’s intent on maintaining the same vision.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic looked into the NHL head coaches with expiring deals on his June 19 edition of NHL Rumblings. Anaheim’s Joel Quenneville, Colorado’s Jared Bednar, Columbus’ Rick Bowness, Minnesota’s John Hynes, Martin St. Louis of Montreal, Andrew Brunette of Nashville, along with Ryan Warsofsky of San Jose, Utah’s Andre Tourigny, and finally, Winnipeg’s Scott Arniel made up the list. The Mammoth have already expectedly extended their bench boss in Tourigny, but in terms of the others, it’s a wide mix of what could come next. Both Bednar and Hynes have tremendous teams in win-now mode, but both coaches have something to prove in 2026-27 after disappointing playoff exits. Brunette and Arniel had success in the past, not quite on the hot seat just yet, but certainly facing the least security as of today. Finally, Bowness is in a unique position, taking on a one-year deal where he’ll look to spark the Columbus group, at age 71 more of a short-term culture changer.
- Lebrun also went on to discuss how former Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh ended up in Toronto on an eight-year contract worth $8.5MM per season. The insider reported that Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois was wary of making a major commitment to the late-bloomer and the two sides were never close in either length or value. It’s not hard to see why, considering that the undrafted 30-year-old was in the AHL just three seasons ago for the Syracuse Crunch. Breaking out in 2023-24 as an 82-gamer with 33 points, Raddysh exploded at an opportune time this season, posting 70 points in 73 games. As a result, he’ll have the chance to lead his hometown Maple Leafs and prove his worth. Losing the gem they found for just a 5th rounder isn’t ideal, but it allows the Lighting to pursue defensemen such as John Carlson, who BriseBois would deem a safer bet, free agents the likes of which the Bolts haven’t had the cap room to even be a contender for in previous years.
Snapshots: Flyers Injuries, Oilers, Celebrini
With their season coming to an abrupt end yesterday, injuries affecting the Philadelphia Flyers have begun to be revealed. Bill Meltzer of Flyers.NHL.com shared that Owen Tippett is dealing with a sports hernia, Cam York was playing through a fractured rib, and Christian Dvorak was battling a separated shoulder.
By yesterday’s Game 4, the Flyers were running with a patchwork lineup, including Carl Grundström and rookie Oliver Bonk, both of whom spent time in the AHL this year.
Tippett was unable to skate in any of the four second round games against the Hurricanes, with an ailment which was not revealed at the time. If he had limped into a game, a full tear would have been possible, which would greatly affect his health moving into next season. The 27-year-old tied his career high in goals this year (28) and played in all but one regular season contest, the best of his career to this point. He should be all set for next fall.
Meanwhile, both York and Dvorak played through their injuries. York skated in 24 minutes or more in each of the last three games against Carolina. The 25-year-old appeared hampered at times, but his overtime series winning goal over Pittsburgh was an unforgettable moment.
Finally, Dvorak came away with four assists, impressively not missing a single game despite his injury. It was a season to remember for the 30-year-old, setting a career high with 51 points in 80 games, and earning a five-year extension with the team.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Edmonton Oilers face an off-season of changes after a disappointing first round exit, but as written by The Fourth Period, that may not include Connor Ingram, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy, who are expected to explore being re-signed. Dickinson, 30, effectively replaced Adam Henrique as a third line center. Mostly a shutdown penalty killer, he did find the back of the net twice in the playoffs, capable of providing a scoring spark at times. He’d require a serious pay cut from his current $4.25MM to stay with the Oilers. Another former Blackhawk, the 33-year-old Murphy played top four minutes in Edmonton, starting 58% of his shifts in the defensive zone as a stay-at-home sidekick for Darnell Nurse, the duo anchoring the penalty kill. Finally, as far as depth goaltenders go, Ingram brought above average results at a .899 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against-average, but Edmonton must find a solution with Tristan Jarry in order to avoid leaning on the persevering 29-year-old Ingram so heavily again.
- Sharks 19-year-old superstar Macklin Celebrini has been named captain of Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championships. It’s a passing of the torch of sorts, as he’ll lead alongside veteran assistants Ryan O’Reilly and John Tavares despite being the youngest skater on the team. Celebrini is no stranger to the international circuit, leading Canada in the World Juniors, and already a top line star at the highest stage, last February in Milan where he came away with a silver medal. A face of the future of Canada Hockey, the Vancouver native wasted no time, recording three points earlier today in a resounding 6-1 exhibition defeat of France.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Connor Murphy
5:00 p.m.: Both the Oilers and the Blackhawks have now officially announced the trade.
As mentioned previously, significant roster maneuvering was necessary to facilitate the deal. According to Puckpedia, after Janmark’s placement on LTIR earlier today, and the expected reassignment of Howard, the team was able to create enough cap space to fit in the $2.2MM cap hit brought by Murphy. With 21 active players and Janmark on LTIR, the Oilers will have approximately $200K in cap space remaining after this deal.
As for Janmark, he’s out with an undisclosed injury. As relayed by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch characterized Janmark’s injury as “a chronic injury that needs some rest,” and said he’d be out “long term.” So far this season, Janmark has gotten into 43 games for the Oilers, scoring eight points. He’s averaged 11:51 time-on-ice per game, including 1:30 per game on the penalty kill. The Swedish forward is under contract for another season at a $1.45MM cap hit.
3:23 p.m.: The Edmonton Oilers are in the process of completing a trade for Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy, a league source tells Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Chicago will acquire a second-round pick in return and retain $2.2MM of Murphy’s $4.4MM cap hit per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The trade was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Edmonton won’t be able to acquire Murphy’s $2.2MM cap hit until they send a player to the minor leagues per PuckPedia. The Oilers recalled Josh Samanski and Isaac Howard earlier in the day, after placing Mattias Janmark on long-term injured reserve. Howard is expected to be the man reassigned per DailyFaceoff’s Jason Gregor. The deal is not expected to be completed until after 5 P.M. ET, the beginning of the 3/3 business day for cap purposes.
This move will mark a reunion between Murphy and Oilers general manager Stan Bowman. Bowman served as the Blackhawks’ GM in 2017, when Murphy was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes alongside Laurent Dauphin in exchange for Niklas Hjalmarsson near the end of his career. Murphy stepped into an immediate role in the Blackhawks’ lineup, taking on a third-pair role while Erik Gustafsson, Jordan Oesterle, and Gustav Forsling vied for a second-pair role.
Murphy notched 14 points, 34 penalty minutes, and a minus-three in 76 games of his first season with the Blackhawks. He proved to be an impactful rush defender who didn’t get in the way of Chicago’s star forwards as they drove up the ice. But Murphy began to run into routine injury beginning in the 2018-19 season. Via injury and healthy scratches, Murphy missed out on 85 games between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons. He racked up 57 points and a plus-one in 217 games across those four seasons.
More notably, he worked his way back to full health for the 2022-23 season. By then, Murphy had emerged as one of only a few veterans on a rebuilding Blackhawks defense. That standing pushed him up into tough, top-four minutes often in relief of Blackawks’ top defender Seth Jones. In the heavy role, Murphy racked up 13 points and 69 penalty minutes in 80 games of the 2022-23 campaign. Injuries and scratches came back to bite him over the last three seasons, pulling Murphy back into the swing of routine absences. He tied his career-high 19 points in 68 games last season but has so far only totaled 13 points in 60 games this season.
While luck hasn’t been on his side in Chicago, Murphy has shown an ability to once again stick in the lineup through much of this season. He has returned to a defensive-defenseman’s role, operating from the bottom pair but routinely tapped to play more than 20 minutes against strong offenses.
Murphy will bring a robust, defensive ability to a high-octane Edmonton blue-line. The Oilers found a cohesive top-pairing in Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard but haven’t yet found the right match for Darnell Nurse, who has spent significant time with six different D partners this season. Murphy could become the seventh man to stand by Nurse, bringing a bit more veteran certainty than previous partners like Spencer Stastney or Ty Emberson. That pairing could move Emberson back to a bottom-pair role and free up Jake Walman to rotate throughout the lineup.
That flexibility will be welcome as Edmonton eyes another long postseason run. Murphy has only appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in his 13-year career – when he played nine games and scored four assists in the 2020 postseason. He should be headed for his second playoff bid now with the Oilers, and could prove to be an X-factor addition should his defensive focus free up Nurse, or Walman, to drive the offense a bit more.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports.
Evening Notes: Murphy, Josi, Team Canada
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote today on Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and his falling role with the club. Murphy is the longest-tenured Blackhawk, whose timeline overlapped with the likes of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Patrick Sharp in 2017-18. A steady presence throughout Chicago’s tougher times, it appears the 32-year-old is on the outside looking in. His ice time has fallen dramatically this season, some of the lowest of his entire career.
The veteran has handled it professionally, saying he understands the decision, as mentioned by Pope. Injuries have not been a factor either, as it seems that Murphy’s seat has simply been taken by the younger 6’8″ Louis Crevier, and fellow veteran Matt Grzelcyk, who offers more mobility in new Head Coach Jeff Blashill’s system.
It is not ideal for a player in his ninth season with the Blackhawks, with the team finally showing progress, to only now lose his role. However, Murphy could have interest from teams looking for a veteran rental on the back-end. His $4.4MM cap hit may need retention for a deal to work, however Chicago has the room to retain. One way or the other, GM Kyle Davidson will surely do the veteran right, considering his contributions over the years.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey shared earlier today Predators GM Barry Trotz’s update on Roman Josi. The Preds’ captain is still a few weeks away from a return. Josi was listed late last month as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. In his absence, Nashville remains above bottom-feeder status, an improvement from last year, but their play has not evoked much confidence of contention either. The Swiss defenseman’s presence is critical for the group, but at 35, it is hard to imagine Josi can sustain his usual workload into 2026 and beyond. If he can stay healthy for 30 more games this year, Josi will reach the esteemed 1,000 game mark.
- Marco D’Amico of RG Media shared that Don Sweeney, Bruins GM, and Doug Armstrong, Blues GM, are both in attendance for tonight’s game between the Canadiens and Flyers. While this may raise some eyebrows, both are with Team Canada ahead of the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy, set to start next February. The matchup features a wealth of players to scout for Team Canada; and D’Amico mentioned Nick Suzuki, Noah Dobson, Sam Montembeault, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim as all possibilities.
Injury Notes: Blackhawks, Slavin, Aitcheson
The Chicago Blackhawks have one more day of practice before their first preseason contest tomorrow night, and the jury is still out on who exactly will be available. In a series of injury updates from Scott Powers of The Athletic, the Blackhawks will have André Burakovsky back at practice this morning. However, defenseman Connor Murphy and forwards Brett Seney and Landon Slaggert will not participate.
As Powers noted, Burakovsky missed the team’s practice yesterday due to a lower-body injury, and there’s no indication he won’t be a full participant in today’s skate. The 30-year-old Austrian was acquired this summer in a salary dump trade with the Seattle Kraken. After signing a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Kraken in the summer of 2022, Burakovsky struggled to stay healthy in his new environment, scoring 30 goals and 92 points in 177 contests.
Unlike the other three, it doesn’t appear Murphy is dealing with any injuries, and he’s only being held out for a maintenance day, which isn’t uncommon for veteran players during training camp. Seney and Slaggert are each dealing with undisclosed injuries, and there are no updates to their availability in tomorrow night’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings.
Other injury updates:
- Following on the heels of last night’s report that the Carolina Hurricanes may hold out All-Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin from their preseason contests, it appears that will be the case. Outside of his absence from preseason action, there haven’t been any specifics regarding Slavin’s injury concerns at the time being. However, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reported this morning that Slavin is on the ice in a non-contact jersey.
- The New York Islanders made a few cuts to their training camp roster this morning, and recent first-round pick, Kashawn Aitcheson, wasn’t one of them. According to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Aitcheson is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after last night’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. The belief is that the Islanders want to get one more look at him once he’s healthy before sending him back to the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
Kraken Assign Jordan Eberle To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Seattle Kraken have assigned team captain Jordan Eberle to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint. Eberle has been out of the lineup for nearly the entire season after suffering a pelvis injury in Seattle’s November 14th win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Eberle suffered the injury in a collision with Hawks defenseman Connor Murphy. His timetable was quickly drawn out in the wake of the injury. Eberle was originally designated as out day-to-day but ultimately needed surgery less than one week later. He was placed on long-term injured reserve and announced as out month-to-month on November 30th.
There have been very few updates on Eberle’s progress in the months since. He resumed off-ice workouts and light skating on January 23rd, but was said to still be a ways out from returning. Now, nearly three weeks later, the veteran winger seems to finally be on the mend. This AHL conditioning loan is likely an effort to keep Eberle on the practice sheet during Seattle’s two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off break, though he could have a chance at playing in one of Coachella Valley’s four games before the Kraken return from break. Of note, since Eberle remains on LTIR, he will be limited to six days and/or three games in the minors – though Seattle can appeal to receive two additional games.
Eberle was off to a red-hot start to the year before he fell to injury. He scored six goals and 11 points in Seattle’s first 17 games, good enough for second on the team in both scoring stats at the time of his injury. The scoring was a promising uptick after Eberle managed just 17 goals and 44 points in 78 games last season – far off the mark of the 63 points he posted in 2022-23. Eberle has emerged as a pillar of the Seattle lineup despite the fluctuating scoring. He’s glued himself to a top-six role and stood as one of Seattle’s best defensive forwards through parts of his first four seasons with the club. Seattle named Eberle as the second captain in franchise history before the start of the 2024-25 season. While he hasn’t had much of a chance to don the ‘C’, the title still stands as a great indication of the role Eberle fills, and the priority he’ll be provided when he finally returns to full health.
Blackhawks Activate Connor Murphy Off Injured Reserve
The Blackhawks welcomed back a veteran defenseman to their lineup against Florida earlier today. The team announced that they activated blueliner Connor Murphy off injured reserve. He had been out for the last month due to a groin injury.
The 31-year-old is in his eighth season with Chicago (12th overall) and has more or less played the same role with them for the majority of that time. Murphy has played in 38 games so far this season, picking up a goal and 12 assists along with 93 blocked shots and 70 hits in 20:33 per night of playing time.
Murphy has one year left on his contract after this season with a $4.4MM cap charge. Given his long-standing reputation as being a quality shutdown defender, it wouldn’t be surprising if GM Kyle Davidson was fielding interest from around the league about his potential availability. Notably, Chicago has one retained salary slot remaining with the other two being used on Jake McCabe and Mikko Rantanen while Murphy can veto a trade to ten teams.
Chicago had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to bring Murphy off injured reserve.
Connor Murphy Nearing A Return From Injury
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy will likely be in and out of the lineup for the next little while as he tries to work his way back from osteitis pubis (as per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). Osteitis pubis is an inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones and typically causes pain and swelling in the groin or lower abdomen.
Murphy hasn’t played since New Year’s Eve when he suited up for the 2025 NHL Winter Classic and has been dealing with the ailment dating back to last season when he missed 38 games.
Pope writes that Murphy feels he could return to game action in the near future, however, doctors don’t share his sentiments and believe that he will struggle to play without interruptions. Murphy has dealt with injuries throughout his career, playing more than 70 games just twice since 2017.
The 31-year-old was on pace for the best offensive season of his career before the injury, posting a goal and 12 assists in 38 games. His overall play has improved this season compared to the previous few years, even though his deployment has remained difficult.
Given where the Blackhawks are in the standings, they would likely have shopped the 12-year NHL veteran, but now with the uncertainty surrounding Murphy’s health, it is likely his trade value has dropped which could mean he remains with the Blackhawks until the end of the season.
Central Injury Notes: Murphy, Jones, Martinez, Smith, Landeskog
The Chicago Blackhawks blue line could be thin before tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Thankfully for the Blackhawks, this situation is not expected to last long.
Defenseman Connor Murphy, currently on the injured reserve list due to a groin injury, is nearing a return to the active roster after fully participating in today’s practice. However, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he will not be ready for tomorrow’s game. Additionally, he mentioned that defensemen Seth Jones and Alec Martinez may also miss the game due to illness.
If Chicago has only five healthy defensemen available, they will probably make a brief call-up. With two open roster spots, they don’t need to make any corresponding roster moves. However, this would result in having an abundance of left-handed defensemen for at least one game.
Other injury notes from the Central Division:
- In Chicago, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that forward Craig Smith has returned to practice wearing a non-contact jersey. Smith has been recovering from a persistent back injury for the past two months, during which he missed 12 days in mid-December and another 17 days in January. So far this season, he has scored six goals and recorded 11 points in 30 games with the team.
- Outside of more immediate news, the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog has been a major storyline for the Colorado Avalanche over the last two years. Speaking to that, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette reported today that Landeskog has been on the ice more than ever since the 2022-23 season, and fell short of designating him as week-to-week. Landeskog’s hypothetical return could make the loss of Mikko Rantanen more palatable for Colorado’s top-six.