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‘This is awesome’: Oilers fans react with excitement to acquiring Connor Murphy
Edmonton Oilers Connor Murphy
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Woz
By Woz
Mar 2, 2026, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 2, 2026, 17:37 EST
Comments
It wasn’t Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Justin Faulk, two defencemen the Edmonton Oilers were previously linked to before Monday, when they decided to pull the trigger on a trade for Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Oilers acquired the 32-year-old with Chicago retaining 50 per cent of his $4.4 million contract and the Oilers sending a 2028 second-round pick in exchange.
When the news broke that Edmonton was finalizing a trade for Murphy, fans instantly reacted on social media with mostly positive thoughts about the move.
https://twitter.com/DJ_Bean/status/2028574597235294692
I do like Connor Murphy but after Jeff Skinner, Frederic, Arvidsson and Mangiapane, I’m holding out excitement til we see how they play for us lol. Hope we didn’t give up to much but guessing they are taking Mangi which complicates things. – @2003nicko via X
Good addition for Edmonton, I like his game a lot. Someone I would’ve liked to see Yzerman go out and get to bolster the bottom 4 but it’s pretty clear he has no interest in pending UFAs, which makes sense. – @OhNyquist via X
https://twitter.com/TopTierPucks/status/2028580244698108221
Well done by the Edmonton Oilers addressing a big need by getting Connor Murphy. Love this swing and that improves the backend significantly. – Jason Demers via X
Connor Murphy deserves all the flowers. He hasn’t sniffed the playoffs in his NHL career (outside of the bubble) but never once complained about his situation in Chicago. Total pro on and off the ice. Plays the right way. Defends hard. Stands up for teammates. Beloved in the room. Happy for him as he gets a chance to play meaningful hockey for an Edmonton team with Stanley Cup aspirations. – @CRoumeliotis via X
https://twitter.com/GoldenHcky/status/2028579149674360981
There’s been lots of love for Murphy from not only Oilers fans but Blackhawks supporters and media alike. For some, they may not have heard his name until today, unless you watched a lot of Blackhawks hockey in your spare time. Connor Murphy isn’t the sexiest name, but as some fans mentioned, he checks a lot of boxes for the Edmonton Oilers.
I am shocked, the Oilers got a very good PK defensemen with some of the best GA/60 on the PK among any teams defense. Murphy plays almost 3:00 a game short handed and has a beautiful 5.8 GA/60. Oilers finally got a boxout D to replace Ceci and Desharnais. – __Greg_Greg_Greg__ via Instagram
He’s definitely the Ekholm style big defenceman they were looking for. Experienced, not much of a puck mover and ain’t a great skater but is solid in his own end. I’m sure he’ll be just fine for us. Probably more of a 5th defenceman than top 4, but we need a right shot BAD just to balance out our defence. Like the move for it’s value. – Toughcookie9000 via Instagram
This is awesome. Defensive dman, right hand shot, 6’4 215 lbs… half retained. This is about as good as we could get right now. – Ryan Colbert via Facebook
Top D man former first round pick , aggressive , not afraid to stick up for his team , Nurse take lessons get back to who you use to be . This is a great signing ! 50% salary retention aloft a 2 nd round. – Travor Willier via Facebook
https://twitter.com/oilersgm2/status/2028586876039520659
Also, big shoutout to Russ Jericho, who wanted the Oilers to go after Murphy back in 2024 in response to a clip from Oilersnation Everyday, where we asked if there was an upgrade on Cody Ceci at the time.
https://twitter.com/RussJerichoArt/status/1749861731562656115
Oilers fans love players who can defend, be aggressive, and work hard. Connor Murphy sounds like he has the resume to become a favourite in a market that was clamoring for a player of his reputation.

PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF TRADE DEADLINE SPECIAL

The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th from 9 AM-1:30 PM MT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and don’t miss a second of deadline day chaos.

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