We have the Chicago Blackhawks’ first big move of the trade deadline! Connor Murphy is being moved to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick. The Blackhawks will retain half of Murphy’s salary as part of the deal.
I like this trade for the Blackhawks. I expected, and mentioned in one of my recent articles, that Murphy would be moved for a second-round pick last week.
The value was right, and the fact that it is a 2028 second-round pick makes me like the deal a little bit more. I don’t trust the Oilers front office, especially former Blackhawks general manager (GM) Stan Bowman, to build a great roster around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Related: 3 Blackhawks Who Could Be Traded Before the Deadline
Not only does the pick being in the future give it the potential to be a higher pick than this year, but it also gives Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson more ammo for future trades to augment the roster.
Here is what I think it means for the rest of this season.
Logjam Clearing Up
Last week, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman discussed how the numerous defensemen on the market could potentially hurt the trade value of players like Murphy.
Part of that conversation, he mentioned how some people are wondering what Kevin Korchinski’s future looks like because of how many defensemen are in Chicago’s system. I don’t want to focus on Korchinski in particular because I’m not sure if this trade affects his future in the organization, but I do want to talk about the rest of the defense core.
Friedman brings up a good point about how many defensemen are in the Blackhawks system. Sam Rinzel is up and coming to this team on the right side and is looking to make his way into a permanent role. Artyom Levshunov is one of the organization’s most important young players and plays on the right side, and Louis Crevier is starting to carve himself a spot on the roster.
Korchinski was just called up to the team and was a healthy scratch. He then played just 8:24 against the Colorado Avalanche and 10:27 against the Utah Mammoth. That is simply not enough for a 21-year-old defenseman.
A shoe needed to drop to allow the future of this team to get full minutes in this lineup. The value was correct, and Murphy was on an expiring contract.
What Does It Mean For Other Trades?
Now that Murphy is gone, it does impact what Davidson can do with the rest of the roster. One thing that I immediately noticed with this deal was the retention.
With the Blackhawks retaining some of Murphy’s salary, that means they have now used two of the three retention slots given to each team. As you may recall, they also retained some of Seth Jones’ salary during his trade to the Florida Panthers.
The reason this matters is that players like Nick Foligno, Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson may be on contracts that are too expensive for contenders to take on.
With just one retention slot left, I wonder how much Davidson will be able to do for the rest of the deadline when it comes to selling. Any deal involving Foligno’s $4.5 million will surely involve salary retention, and they have apparently had the conversation about a trade.
I’d assume that, given how much respect it seems there is between the organization and Foligno, if he requests a trade, they will do everything they can to facilitate the move.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think only being able to retain salary on one of Foligno, Dickinson, and Mikheyev may limit what Davidson can do.
Another thing I wonder about is if the Blackhawks have the appetite to trade Matt Grzelcyk now. Although I made the point that you need to give the future opportunities to succeed, you still need veterans around to help the young guys.
With Murphy now out of the locker room, Grzelcyk is really the only veteran on that blue line now to help guide guys like Levshunov. If it were me, I wouldn’t move off Grzelcyk.
Although it may not be tangible on the ice, having a veteran to walk the young defensemen through the early parts of their career is incredibly valuable. That aspect of keeping Grzelcyk in the room is more valuable than a late-round pick that he would get the Blackhawks in return.
