Connor Murphy was traded to the Edmonton Oilers by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The 32-year-old defenseman has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 60 games this season. He also led the Blackhawks in blocks (87) and was second in short-handed ice time per game (2:57).
Murphy is in the final season of a four-year, $17.6 million contract ($4.4 million average annual value) he signed with the Blackhawks on Aug. 31, 2021, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Chicago will retain 50 percent of his remaining contract.
Selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round (No. 20) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Murphy has 173 points (47 goals, 126 assists) in 805 regular-season games for the Coyotes and Blackhawks, and four assists in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Oilers (29-24-8), who are 1-2-0 since returning from the Olympic break and 1-5-0 in their past six overall, are third in the Pacific Division with 66 points. However, they lead the Seattle Kraken, who have two games in hand, by just one point and the San Jose Sharks, who have three games in hand, by just four. Seattle currently holds the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, while San Jose is on the outside looking in.
Edmonton, which has lost to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons, next plays the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; RDS2, SNW, TSN5).
A few hours before the deal for Murphy was announced, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said he was looking for a right-shot defenseman ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, which is Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
"We have more lefts than rights, so in a simplistic way, yes," Bowman said. "But also, you don't want to overdo that too much, because sometimes a better player that is a left shot can play the right side. Ideally, you'd like to have three lefts and three rights in your pairs. It doesn't always work out that way. Over half the teams don't have that."
Bowman also said the Oilers are in win-now mode.
"We're always looking to add," Bowman said. "I don't know if there is added pressure, but I would say we want to win. That hasn't changed. If we can bring in new players to help us, that's great.
"I think my point earlier is that there's a lot of ways to improve as a team. Part of it is new players and part of it is our existing players to dial it in a little bit better. Certainly, we're not looking at the team in a couple of years. We're looking to try to win right now, and that's the way it was when the season began. It hasn't changed at all and we're going to keep pushing."
Also on Monday, the Oilers announced that forward Mattias Janmark (undisclosed) was placed on long-term injured reserve. Forwards Josh Samanski and Isaac Howard were recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League, and forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Alec Regula were sent to the AHL after clearing waivers.
The Blackhawks (23-28-9), who have lost eight of 10 (2-6-2), next visit the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, CHSN).
NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
