The Edmonton Oilers addressed the right defence position on Monday when Connor Murphy was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks. Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman gave up a distant draft pick, entering the deadline market early in the week. Chicago retained half of Murphy’s salary, and Bowman surrendered a 2028 second-round pick. That’s a good deal for Edmonton.

Next question: What can Murphy do for the Oilers?

Murphy’s skill set

Murphy is a veteran shutdown defender with miles and miles of NHL games behind him (he was drafted 19 selections after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was taken by Edmonton in 2011). He’s 32, 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds. He has played in 805 regular-season games, just nine in the postseason. He hung around for his entire career in the Windy City, hoping things would get better; that’s the definition of loyalty. That may partly explain the light return for Chicago.

He skates well below the speed limit, via NHL Edge, but stays in position and has a long wingspan that allows him to keep rushing forwards to the outside. His five-on-five goal share with the Hawks (46 percent) was slightly better than the team’s performance when he was at rest (43 percent). Murphy’s GA-60 at five-on-five (2.4) is strong compared to the Blackhawks when he’s been off the ice (3.04 GA-60, via Natural Stat Trick).

Murphy is a useful NHL defenceman. Where does he belong on the Oilers depth chart?

Oilers blueliners versus elites

NHL coaches tell you what they are thinking via playing time. Against elites at five-on-five this season, the Oilers’ top pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard is averaging 6:23 per game. Darnell Nurse is at 5:50, and partner Jake Walman is at 5:41. Ty Emberson (3:20) and Spencer Stastney (3:02) are the clear third pair. All numbers via Puck IQ.

When talking about coaches trusting defencemen, playing elites without Connor McDavid is the ultimate high-wire act in Edmonton. The TOI totals for defencemen this season versus elites without McDavid are revealing. Nurse leads the way with 229 minutes, running a 46 percent Fenwick (similar to expected goals), which is 5 percent below the average for an Edmonton defenceman. The weekend in California exposed the second pairing (Nurse with Walman) and led to the trade with Chicago.

The Oilers need either a substantial partner for Nurse or a completely new second pairing with Nurse checking down to the third pair. Is Murphy part of the answer?

Murphy in Chicago versus elites

In Chicago, Murphy played 3:34 per game versus elites at five-on-five. That’s third pairing minutes. The numbers versus mid-level and the soft opposition were encouraging, and (along with heavy PK work) give the Oilers two strong areas where Murphy should thrive.

CompetitionPct of minutesDFF PctDFF Rel (Pct)

Elite

27

34

minus 6

Mid

38

49

plus 5

Low

35

50

plus 5

All numbers via Puck IQ

Based on the Chicago minutes, asking Murphy to work the big minutes against top talent would be out of his comfort zone at this stage of his career.

The veteran defender will be able to help the Oilers. The team lost much of its rugged edge over the summer when men like Evander Kane and Corey Perry exited Alberta. Adding Murphy gives the team a big body who can impact the net-front and punish forwards along the wall. He has slow feet, but they are also calm feet, and this Oilers club badly needs someone to settle down the group.

What will the pairings look like? 

Kris Knoblauch will want to experiment after a disastrous weekend on the West Coast. The Oilers scored 13 five-on-five goals in the three California games, but allowed 10. As much as fans want various members of the team’s defence benched or sent to the minors, the reality is that the coaching staff has to turn things around in a hurry. Missing the playoffs would be a disaster for an organization pushing for the Stanley Cup.

Practice before the Tuesday game versus the Ottawa Senators featured Bouchard with Walman, a high-event duo at five-on-five with very little playing time together; Nurse with Emberson (just 144 minutes together this season) and Ekholm with Stastney (basically strangers, just 11 minutes together this season five-on-five). Not much chemistry, but a fresh look might help with the reset.

The team has a new defensive coach in Paul Coffey and some incriminating evidence of ghastly defence on film from last week’s games against the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks. It’s open audition time, and some of the veterans could move down the depth chart and receive fewer minutes in an effort to restore their quality of play.

Enter Murphy. He didn’t play on Tuesday night against the Senators, but should be in the lineup later this week. He’s not the complete defenceman the Oilers received when Ekholm came over at the 2023 deadline, but his impact could be vital to this team’s chances of making the playoffs and going deep in the postseason for the third year in a row.

Shayna Goldman and Mark Lazerus at The Athletic both gave a solid grade to Stan Bowman for the transaction. Lazerus wrote, “He’s a big, physical stay-at-home defenseman who brings dependability night after night. You always know what you’re going to get out of him, and it’s usually pretty solid. More than that, he’s been the first guy over the boards on the league’s best penalty kill this season in Chicago.”

Calm feet. Winning battles. Money on the penalty kill. Plus a value deal due to the money retained. There are good arrows from this deal, and if the team turns things around in March, fans could be singing the praises of Murphy come playoff time. For the player, it’s a chance to enjoy a playoff run on a team that needs him.

Murphy is a calm and physical presence who can contribute effective play against mid- and lower-level opponents. Chances are that he’ll see some tough opposition while McDavid is on the bench, and the math says he’ll be exposed in that situation. Murphy joins a team that badly needs a reliable defenceman. That’s a role he can fill against most NHL opponents.