Edmonton Oilers looking to bring back key veteran defenceman: report
The Edmonton Oilers management team have one key player on their roster that they’re hoping to sign to an extension.
Just days before the 2026 trade deadline, the Oilers announced that they had acquired defenceman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks. The 33-year-old fit in seamlessly and played a big role, averaging north of 20 minutes in ice time both in the regular season and playoffs.
Oilers fans have been hoping to see the pending UFA return. There are no guarantees that will happen, but it sounds like management is doing its best to work out a new contract.
Sounds like there’s been some discussion between the Oilers and Connor Murphy’s camp. Today’s Babcock news doesn’t change anything as far as the players willingness to consider a return to the Oilers, but term and dollars will have to make sense based on the market.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 18, 2026
Murphy, who has logged 825 games at the NHL level, is coming off a four-year, $17.6-million deal that carried a cap hit of $4.4 million. AFP Analytics is projecting his next contract to be a two-year deal with a cap hit of roughly $3.6 million.
That may be on the low end, especially given the fact that Murphy’s teammate, 36-year-old Mattias Ekholm, signed a three-year, $12-million extension in October. That is likely a closer estimation as to what a Murphy extension would look like.
The Oilers do technically have the money to make it work, as they currently have just north of $14.5 million in cap space. That said, they have seven other pending UFAs in Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen, Jack Roslovic, Max Jones, and Connor Ingram. They also have two pending RFAs in Colton Dach and Spencer Stastney.
In order to fill out the remainder of their roster, the Oilers will likely need to move out some cap space. One way that could happen is by trading Darnell Nurse.
Nurse, who commands a $9.25-million cap hit, requested a trade earlier this month. Management would love to move him, though it won’t be an easy process given his contract.
Should the Oilers move on from Nurse, they will need to add pieces to their blue line, such as Murphy.
While there are a lot of moving parts here, it does appear that Murphy is willing to stick around in Edmonton. The Oilers have 12 days remaining before the veteran blueliner is set to hit free agency.
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