Edmonton Oilers player review and 2023-24 preview: Ryan Murray

Sail on, Ryan Murray.

It may be a surprise to some, but Ryan Murray did in fact play for the Edmonton Oilers.

I know, shocking. All 13 games of his tenure came at the start of the season.

It’s hard to say a whole lot about Ryan Murray’s tenure with the Oilers. The team signed the former 2nd overall pick to a one-year deal on Sept. 2, just before training camp, allowing themselves to add some extra depth to their blue line.

Murray made the team out of camp and during his brief stint, played 63 minutes alongside Evan Bouchard, and 46 minutes alongside Tyson Barrie. He had a few minutes with other Oilers defencemen, too, but these were his primary partners.

With Bouchard, the Oilers controlled 54.62 percent of the shot attempts, 49.68 percent of the expected goal share, but were outscored 5-0. With Barrie, they controlled 4225 percent of the shot attempts, 45.39 percent of the expected goals share and 66.67 percent of the goals outscoring opponents 4-2.

Murray’s last game came on November 12 before suffering a back injury that landed him on LTIR. He had a conditioning stint in April with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, but nothing more ever came of it.

Unsigned at this point in the offseason, there’s a chance he signs a PTO with a club and makes a team, but injuries have been a major issue for him during his career that has stunted his ability to be a lineup regular.