The Edmonton Oilers are fortifying their defense ahead of the NHL trade deadline as they look to make another deep run in the playoffs.
The back-to-back Western Conference champions on Monday acquired dependable defenseman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2028 second-round pick. Chicago is retaining half of Murphy’s $4.4 million salary as part of the deal finalized 93 hours before the deadline Friday.
The Oilers rank 26th out of the league’s 32 teams in goals against this season, including a couple of losses since the Olympic break ended that can be chalked up to shoddy defensive play. They got beat 6-5 by Anaheim on Wednesday and 5-4 by San Jose on Saturday, defeats to rivals in the Pacific Division that have threatened Edmonton's precarious place in the standings.
Murphy, who turns 33 on March 26, is a reliable defender who should slot in on the blue line on the third pair. He's averaging 16 1/2 minutes of ice time through 60 games with the Blackhawks this season, his 13th overall and 12th full one since making his debut in 2013.
He leads Chicago with 87 blocked shots.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has a long history with Murphy. He was GM of the Blackhawks when they acquired Murphy from Arizona in 2017, and Bowman also signed Murphy's current $17.6 million, four-year contract that expires on June 30.
Edmonton is coming off losing the Stanley Cup Final to Florida in consecutive years, with keeping the puck out of the net a considerable reason for each defeat. Bowman in December made a goaltending swap with Pittsburgh, sending Stuart Skinner to the Penguins for Tristan Jarry as part of a four-player trade that also involved a 2029 second-round pick.
Jarry's .864 save percentage with the Oilers ranks 44th out of 49 goalies who have appeared in at least 10 games since the move on Dec, 12, which also included Brett Kulak being sent to Pittsburgh. The Oilers acquired Spencer Stastney that same day, and getting Murphy is the latest step in piecing together a more solid defense.
To make room for Murphy, the Oilers sent forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Alec Regula to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League after they cleared waivers. Mattias Janmark went on long-term injured reserve.
Edmonton was not the only contender in the West to add Monday. The Minnesota Wild claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers from St. Louis, and they almost certainly are not done.
“We’ve got room to do some things,” GM Bill Guerin said Sunday, pointing to the center position and faceoffs in particular as an area he'd like to shore up. “If I have a chance to make the team better, I will. It’s just got to make sense. Whatever the ask is, whatever we feel like is a good price for whatever we’re getting, we’ll do it.”
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AP freelance writer Mike Cook in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
