Edmonton Oilers have signed hard-playing defenseman to a new contract

The deal secures one of the team's most critical offseason priorities before free agency opens.

Murphy, 33, was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in March for a 2028 second-round pick, with Chicago retaining 50 percent of his $4.4 million cap hit.

The Oilers have now re-signed him to a five-year contract extension, carrying a $4.1M AAV.

He contributed two goals and three points in the Oilers' first-round playoff exit against the Anaheim Ducks, but production was never the real pitch.

Murphy ranked first among Chicago blueliners in blocked shots and penalty-kill time before the trade, and he remained one of the most reliable defensive presences after arriving in Edmonton.

He is the right-shot, shutdown blueliner the Oilers have lacked for years. A physical presence at 6-foot-4, he makes the game structurally harder for opponents - the type of value that does not always appear in a box score but absolutely registers in a playoff series.

Here is where the timing becomes genuinely interesting. The NHL cleared Mike Babcock to coach on June 18 following a league-conducted investigation, and he is expected to be formally hired by the Edmonton Oilers imminently.

Babcock has always built his best teams around exactly this defensive profile - big, physical, shutdown defensemen who absorb heavy minutes in the defensive zone.

His Stanley Cup in Detroit in 2008 was built on a defensive identity that prioritized exactly those qualities.

Under Kris Knoblauch, Murphy was a second-pair piece brought in to stabilize the right side.

Under Babcock, that same profile becomes a system cornerstone.

With Jason Dickinson already signed at $4 million per season, Edmonton is clearly prioritizing defensive structure over offensive flash.

Murphy fills the right-side gap that exposed the Oilers throughout their playoff run, and if Darnell Nurse is eventually moved, his workload expands further.