Oilers in talks with towering defenseman well respected by Connor McDavid

The Edmonton Oilers are in discussions with pending UFA defenceman Connor Murphy this Sunday morning, but a team source tells The Fourth Period a deal is not yet considered imminent.

Insider David Pagnotta broke the news, quoting a source directly: "We're still talking."

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement of momentum. It tells you where things sit, which is in a holding pattern with the clock ticking on Murphy's free agency.

Murphy is 33 and just wrapped up one of the more quietly productive defensive seasons of his career. He posted 17 points in 80 games this season, going plus-2 overall.

But the playoffs told a sharper story. In 6 postseason games, he went plus-3 with 3 points, including 2 goals.

His last 10 games of the regular season were even stronger, a +6 rating with 4 points. That kind of late-season push tends to drive up a player's market value heading into July.

Murphy's cap hit and what Edmonton needs on the blue line

His current cap hit sits at $4.4 million. Whether the Oilers can or want to match that number this offseason is the real question GM Stan Bowman has to answer.

Edmonton finished the regular season 41-30-11 for 93 points, ranking 14th overall. The blue line has been a pressure point all season, and Murphy gave them a reliable, experienced presence on the right side.

He's not a difference-maker in the traditional sense, more of a veteran glue guy who keeps a roster functional when younger defenders are still developing. Think of him as the defensive equivalent of a reliable fourth line: underrated until he's gone.

The Oilers went 6-2-2 in their last 10 regular-season games, building momentum heading into their playoff run.

With no head coach currently confirmed in Edmonton's front-office structure, Bowman is carrying the load on roster decisions. Murphy makes sense on paper, but "still talking" is not a done deal, and UFA opens July 1.

If another team enters the conversation with a cleaner offer, this one could move fast, and not necessarily in Edmonton's favour.