First big trade of the deadline frenzy is completed and Elliotte Friedman spills the details
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Connor Murphy trade talks with the Edmonton Oilers are heating up fast, and it feels like the finish line is right there.
Elliotte Friedman's report isn't subtle, this is the kind of wording you hear when the calls turn into paperwork.
Edmonton has been hunting a steady right-shot defender for weeks, and this is the cleanest fit they've sniffed out.
Chicago, sitting at 23-28-9, has every reason to turn a veteran into picks before Friday.
The Oilers are 29-24-8, and you can see the urgency in how they manage minutes on the back end.
Friedman's post is here, and it reads like a deal that's almost stitched up.
Murphy isn't coming to run the man advantage, he's coming to make hard stops, win board battles, and get the puck moving before things get messy.
He has 4-9-13 this season, and the points aren't the sales pitch anyway.
Connor Murphy and the Edmonton Oilers feel deadline-ready
Oilers fans have that familiar mix of excitement and dread, because we've seen «one more defender» swing a series, or do absolutely nothing.
The cap math matters, too, because Murphy's deal carries a $4.4 million cap hit, and it's the final year of his contract.
If Edmonton is this close, you assume retention is on the table, or a third team is lurking to make the numbers work.
The March 6 trade deadline is basically staring everyone down now, and contenders are paying extra for certainty.
On the ice, the idea is simple: give the Oilers a calmer shift after an icing, a safer kill, and one more body who can defend late with a lead.
Murphy also lets Edmonton spread the workload, so the top pair isn't dragged into every ugly matchup.
If this really is almost completed, the next question is what comes out the door, because Chicago won't do this for free.
Either way, this is the type of move that tells the room the Oilers are serious about the next game, not the next season.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 2|206 ANSWERS First big trade of the deadline frenzy is completed and Elliotte Friedman spills the details Should the Edmonton Oilers complete a Connor Murphy trade? | ||
| Yes | 161 | 78.2 % |
| No | 45 | 21.8 % |
| List of polls | ||