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While the 2025-26 NHL season is still a few months away, expectations for the Chicago Blackhawks should be tempered.
The team is currently riding a five-year playoff drought, and have missed the postseason in seven of the last eight years. Last season, the team finished 15th place in the Western Conference, managing an abysmal 25-46-11 record.
On the bright side, the Blackhawks are slowly putting the pieces together to build into a contender down the road. At the same time, they're likely still a ways off from getting back to the postseason.
As a result, we can expect the team will still be looking to add more future assets this season where possible. This means that veterans with limited term remaining could be used as trade chips.
One of the team's most realistic trade pieces who could bring back a good return would be Connor Murphy. The defenseman is 32 years old, and has spent the last eight years with the Blackhawks. Murphy is an established top-four defender, who is capable of taking on tough minutes. This past season, the defender averaged 20:37 per game in ice time, while managing 19 points in 68 games.
Murphy has one year left on his contract, at a $4.4 million cap hit. He does also have some trade protection, in the form of a 10-team no-trade list, per PuckPedia.
Below is a look at two different landing spots for the defender, if the Blackhawks aim to trade Murphy this offseason.
Stars could use help on right side
The Dallas Stars are certainly set in terms of left-handed defenders. Between Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, the trio will remain part of the team's core for a long time.
However, the Stars are still lacking a right-handed defender who can take on tough minutes. The team does have a few right-shot blue liners under contract, in Ilya Lyubushkin, Matt Dumba, Nils Lundkvist and Alex Petrovic. However, none of them should necessarily be counted on for too large of a role.
The Stars are in win-now mode, and a right-handed defender seems like a clear area of need. Of course, salary cap constraints could make a trade quite difficult. But if the Stars could offload a player like Matt Dumba at a $3.75M cap hit as part of the trade, a move likely becomes much more possible.
The one hold-up could be the Stars' lack of trade capital. In the next three years, the Stars have just one first-round pick, in 2027. While it's possible a deal could get done without one, the team doesn't necessarily have a surplus of future assets.
Still, Dallas would be one of the few teams expected to be legitimate contenders, who may need a right-handed defender. Given that Murphy is approaching his mid-30s, he'd be less of a fit on a team a little further away from contending, given they'd be less likely to acquire him as a rental. Meanwhile, if a team extended him, there's likely to be some risk of age-based decline. As a result, Dallas could be a potential fit, given they're looking to win now.
Golden Knights could be looking for Alex Pietrangelo replacement
Anytime a player is made available for a trade, it seems like the Vegas Golden Knights are in the mix. The team also did already make their big splash this summer, signing Mitch Marner to a massive eight-year contract.
While Marner was a big add, the team was also dealt a huge loss with Alex Pietrangelo unavailable. The defender announced last week that he's taking a step back from hockey, in order to deal with a potential career-ending injury.
Without Pietrangelo, Vegas only has two right-shot defenders who are expected to be lineup regulars. While Zach Whitecloud and Kaedan Korczak can both be contributing members of the defense group, neither played in a big role over a large sample size.
Like Dallas, the Golden Knights are firmly in win-now mode. As a result, whether Murphy was brought in as a rental, or extended, the team is thinking short-term. With that in mind, they're likely less worried about the implications of only having him for a single year, or extending him on a deal where his performance would end up declining a few years down the line.
Plus, Murphy's cap hit isn't overly substantial. While $4.4M may be a little too much for Vegas to take on without moving out other pieces, it could become more doable with salary retained.
There have also been reports that Vegas could be a preferred landing spot for Rasmus Andersson. At the same time, he's also likely to cost more in any trade than Murphy would. So if Vegas wants to go the cheaper route, going after Murphy could make sense.
