The Edmonton Oilers likely made their bed already as the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline approaches. The team chose to trade Stuart Skinner for Tristan Jarry, which has mostly been a disaster to this point. Instead of chasing another goaltender, the next logical decision was to trade for a defensive defenseman, which the Oilers did by acquiring Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy on Monday afternoon.
The return in the deal was a second-round pick, with the Blackhawks also retaining 50% of Murphy's $4.4 million cap hit. While the price for the Oilers wasn't terrible, it was a hole in their defense that was avoidable if Bowman hadn't made the mistake earlier this season.
The unfortunate truth for the Oilers in all this mess is that Brett Kulak, who also went the other way in the Jarry trade, played a similar role for Edmonton in their last two Stanley Cup Final runs. Instead of hanging on to Skinner and Kulak, the Oilers took on a goalie who is performing worse, and then had to spend more assets to get another defenseman. It's poor asset management from Stan Bowman.
Murphy does have a bit more upside than Kulak, but Edmonton also has a desire to upgrade its third-line center spot. If they had kept Kulak, another defenseman wouldn't have been as crucial, and they could've used these assets to get their depth center. The preference could be to keep Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the wing in the top-six, and they have been showing interest in players like Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to the most recent episode of Elliotte Friedman's 32 Thoughts podcast.
Is the Connor Murphy trade enough for the Oilers?
Edmonton doesn't have much cap space to make many more changes. Andrew Mangiapane and Alex Regula passed through waivers on Monday to free up space for the Murphy trade, and the hope is to also deal Mangiapane before the deadline, which saves them a bit of money. However, they are now up against it for acquiring that third-line center they want unless it's a player-for-player deal.
There were rumors that the Oilers had interest in Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Maple Leafs to fill the defense role, which could've led to a multi-player deal in which they received both Roy and the Swedish defenseman. With that possibility now off the table, it looks like the Oilers' roster could be set for the stretch run and postseason, barring another minor deal before Friday's deadline.
Final trade grades for Oilers, Blackhawks
The second-round pick is a bit of a price to pay for the Oilers, but it was something they had to do to get ahead of the market and make sure they landed a solid defenseman. He will slot in nicely behind Evan Bouchard on the second pair as a perfect alternative to the offensive defenseman's strengths, giving the lineup a bit more depth.
The Blackhawks will be happy to get a second-round pick for an aging defenseman on an expiring contract. Chicago has a ton of defensive depth in the pipeline, and Murphy likely didn't fit into their long-term plans. Being able to retain some money on his contract helped the team acquire a better draft asset, which is something they'd be more than willing to do, given it comes off the books after this season.
The Oilers getting a defenseman before the rest of the market is a win, but putting themselves into a position to have to spend such a good draft asset brings their grade down in the end.
Oilers grade: C
Blackhawks grade: A
