The Chicago Blackhawks made their first move ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, sending veteran defenseman Connor Murphy — their longest-tenured player — to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL draft.
It was 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 had dwindled to 16:34, his lowest since his first season with the Hawks in 2017-18.
Murphy’s name had swirled in trade rumors for some time, so his departure shouldn’t come as a surprise as the Oilers — currently tied for sixth in the Western Conference standings with 66 points — get a lower-pair defenseman who can move the puck well.
Hockey insider Frank Seravalli first reported the news Monday.
A first-round draft pick (No. 20) by the Arizona Coyotes in 2011, Murphy came to Chicago in a June 2017 trade for Niklas Hjalmarsson and gained knowledge and leadership skills from the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and others. He had been an alternate captain for the Hawks since the 2021-22 season.
Murphy has 47 goals, 126 assists, 535 penalty minutes and a minus-66 rating in 805 career games — 547 of them with the Hawks, 12th in franchise history among defensemen.
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 his $4.4 million salary-cap hit for 2025-26 as part of the deal.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson likely isn’t done, with veteran forwards Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev other names that could be on the move before the 2 p.m. Friday deadline.
