Columbus Blue Jackets: Could Connor Murphy Help?
By William Espy
Connor Murphy as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets? I doubt the Dublin, Ohio native would mind.
Yesterday I looked into how Duncan Keith would fit with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but there’s another interesting Chicago Blackhawks defenseman who’s younger and has ties to the area. Connor Murphy is a former AAA Blue Jacket and was born in Dublin.
On top of his ties to the area, Murphy would bring size and skill to the second or third pairing. He’s a 6’4″, 212 pound right handed defenseman with a contract going through 2021-2022. Getting him away from Chicago wouldn’t be easy though considering he’s only 25 years old and arguably one of their best defensemen at this point.
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Murphy’s stats aren’t the most impressive, however he spent years on a bottom feeding Arizona Coyotes team prior to being traded to the Blackhawks where the team hasn’t been a playoff contender since he got there. This leaves the question of what could he do on a playoff team?
Murphy would never be a top pairing defenseman, however with a cap hit under $4M a season he wouldn’t have to be.
He missed the beginning of this season and as a result it’s hard to judge just how good he is at this point in time.
Murphy’s a former first round pick who’s yet to develop into his full potential, and considering many defensemen don’t hit their prime until their late 20’s now would be the perfect time to acquire him.
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Stan Bowman’s tendency to trade young players prior to them reaching their potential makes it entirely believable that he’d be willing to make this move if he feels he gets something better now. If the Blue Jackets were to give up an established forward, even if they’re from the bottom six and some additional assets like a prospect and a pick then prying Murphy from Chicago may be a possibility.