The Edmonton Oilers have secured another unrestricted free agent from last season's trade deadline acquisitions, signing defenceman Connor Murphy to a five-year contract worth $4.1 million annually on Monday. The deal comes one day after centre Jason Dickinson agreed to a five-year, $4 million per year extension. Both contracts include no-trade clauses for the first three years and a 16-team trade list for the final two seasons.
Filling key roster spots at reasonable cost
Murphy, who came to Edmonton at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, provides size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and 13 years of NHL experience, with a strong commitment to defensive play — an area the Oilers have long sought to improve. He is expected to slot into the second-pairing right-shot defence role. Dickinson will serve as the third-line centre, addressing another long-standing need for the club.
The signings ease the off-season workload for general manager Stan Bowman, particularly with defenceman Darnell Nurse reportedly on the trading block and expected to be moved before the free agent market opens on July 1. Bowman now does not have to fill both second-pairing defence spots.
Countering the narrative about American players in Canada
Murphy's decision to stay in Edmonton contradicts the emerging narrative that American-born players do not want to play in Canada, following recent departures such as Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk from Vancouver, and Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau from Calgary. Murphy, who spent four years in Arizona and nine in Chicago, is ready to make Edmonton his home.
"Looks like being an Edmonton Oiler, even for a short time in a failed season, made a strong impression on Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson," said Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal.
Oilers' roster and cap situation
The Oilers now have 11 forwards from last season under contract: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, and Matt Savoie in the top six; and Dickinson, Trent Frederic, Mattias Janmark, Josh Samanski, and Isaac Howard in the bottom six. Restricted free agent Colton Dach is expected to sign a new deal shortly.
According to Puckpedia, Edmonton has $7.4 million in cap space remaining and still needs another goaltender to complement Tristan Jarry, as well as another defenceman to join Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman, Mattias Ekholm, Ty Emberson, and Murphy. The team needs a big, strong defenceman to replace Nurse's minutes, as Walman is not the same type of player and is less durable.
With the forward group largely set, the focus turns to Bowman's July 1 shopping list, which will likely target a defenceman and a goaltender.
