Connor Murphy is staying in Edmonton, and the Oilers made that call after moving on from head coach Kris Knoblauch.
The reported deal comes in at 5 years and $4.1 million per season, a $20.5 million commitment that few saw coming on June 22.
That's why this hit fast across the league. Murphy was viewed as a trade-deadline add, not the kind of veteran defender Edmonton would lock in before the market even opened.
He arrived from Chicago on March 2 in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick, and the fit on the blue line was steady right away.
Edmonton clearly liked the floor he gave them.
But this move's quickly drawing backlash, Murphy will be 38 years old when this contract expires.
Here's some of the hundreds of comments that have roled in.
The first round exits just running it back eh
Giving a 33 year old a 5 yr deal and several years of trade protection is a choice
This organization just keeps digging themselves in deeper holes on so many levels out of desperation
4M till a guy thats 38! amazing work stan
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This wasn't a flashy move. It was a front-office decision built around structure, penalty killing, net-front work, and a defender who doesn't get rattled when the game turns heavy.
For a team that finished 41-30-11 with a 13 goal differential, the message is obvious. Stan Bowman is trying to keep the back end harder to play against instead of chasing a softer fix.
Why Edmonton made the call now on Connor Murphy
Murphy put up 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 2025-26, but that's not the number that drives this bet. The heavier read is in the wear-and-tear minutes and matchup trust.
He also posted 138 blocked shots and 90 hits, which tells you exactly what Edmonton is buying for the next 5 years.
This is blue-line insulation, not boxscore shopping.
That matters even more when the Oilers already have enough star power up front.
They finished with 282 goals, so this deal is about keeping pucks out of their crease, not adding another scorer.
There's also an age-and-term gamble here, and that's what makes the contract unexpected.
Murphy is a proven NHL defender with 825 career games, but 5 years is still real runway for a player in that stage of his career.
Still, Edmonton didn't hand him depth money by mistake.
A $4.1 million cap hit says they see him as more than a third-pair placeholder and more like a stabilizer in the top four mix.
The timing stands out too. With no new head coach announced yet, Bowman is shaping part of next season's identity from the blue line out.
Unexpected? Absolutely. But from Edmonton's side, this looks like a bet on reliability, bite, and a veteran who already showed he can slide into the room without noise.
Did the Oilers go too long on Connor Murphy?
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