You all know that I'm not huge on game previews or recaps, I like to delve into the more interesting.
While we're on the subject though, the Hawks exploded in the 3rd period for 5 goals and defeated the Edmonton Oilers at home 6-2.
Who are these guys? The Hawks are winners of their last 5 and really messing up their shot at a high pick in the upcoming draft.
They are just 3 points out of the playoffs but still have a lot of teams to jump to get in. According to Hockey Reference, the Hawks playoff probability is now at 9.7%, which is up from 1.9% since the last team I checked in a couple weeks ago.
Regardless of what happens, I still believe the Hawks are going to be sellers and will be on the outside looking in come April.
Now we got that out of the way, I want to tell you a story.
There once was this guy named Niklas Hjalmarsson and he was amazing. He was swapped this one day in June ( the 23rd in the year of 2017 to be exact) for this lanky, younger gentleman named Connor Murphy.
This was not Connor's fault but the masses were less-than-impressed and took it out on this Murphy character.
Murphy, unbeknownst to him, unfortunately, caught the ire of his coach, Joel Quenneville.
Connor switched systems and didn't adjust well enough according to this Coach Quenneville. It wasn't his fault but it really, kind of messed him up.
He was healthy-scratched, moved from the right to the left side and never once complained.
Now, this Quenneville guy is gone and a gentleman who appears at least half his age named Jeremy has taken over the decision making and things have looked up for young Connor. I think this kid might have a future just yet with this Chicago of Blackhawks company.
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The above is a cautionary tale of (and just a weird way of saying) a young defenceman who was handed some large shoes to fill from a Blackhawks legend in "Hammer", experienced some turmoil with a new coach/system, but has progressed in a way that has put him in a position to potentially be one of the more important pieces to the organization than most are giving him credit.
Sure, the "sexy" names of Blackhawks present and future are Jokiharju, Boqvist, Mitchell and Beaudin but don't discount what Connor Murphy is to this team today and what he will be in the the future here in Chicago.
Connor Murphy had a little injury issue (see: back surgery) that kept him out of the Blackhawks lineup until early December, however, since his return he's elevated Chicago's backend and currently is their #1 shutdown defenceman (alongside Carl Dahlstrom).
He's also one of the only physical defenceman on the roster which will be needed as none of those above up-and-coming defencemen will possess that trait to the degree that Murphy does.
Let's look at where he stands in ice time, advance and situations stats:
* 6th in ATOI (19:12) behind Keith, Kane, Gustafsson, Toews, Seabrook
* 4th in ATOI EV (17:35) behind Gustafsson, Keith, Kane
* 4th with 2.4 hits/game
* 5th with 1.4 blocks/game
* 46.3% CF% - not great but being used in a shutdown role
* 65.7% Def zone start
* 4th team on-ice shooting % with him on ice with 12.2%
* 4th team on-ice SAVE % with him on ice with 92.5%
* 6th on team with SH TOI with 1:54 TOI
… and what about those intangible leadership skills?
While he's just 25 years old, he's played 350+ games in the NHL already. Have a look at his resume which includes a lot of international experience. And have a look what the USA brass think of him as a leader:
(Source: Elite Prospect)
I always love looking back to the draft days as well. Here is the footage courtesy of TSN, here is Connor's draft day when he went 20th overall in 2011 to the Phoenix Coyotes.
Since this day, he ended up in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting (he didn't end up going to Miami University) and ultimately became a staple on that ‘Yotes blueline by 2014-15. He was a top 4 guy - for an albeit bad Coyotes team - from then until he was traded to Chicago in 2017.
The main (main) reason I wanted to highlight the importance of Connor Murphy moving forward for this team is due to the recent trade chatter around Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.
It's hard to admit the legends that are Keith and Seabrook are well beyond their best years. They might end up being traded or the most expensive 3rd pairing by the end of their contracts, however, what is undeniable is the fact that they will be passing the baton on to the "next wave" and while everyone thinks Adam Boqvist and Ian Mitchell are going to step in right away and lead this team back to the promise land, that is just nonsense. Who knows when those guys will be full-time in Chicago and when they are, they will need a few years to adjust.
So, who will be there to help this transition and/or even be a bonafide leader on this team from the backend? My guess is Murphy. He takes his current experience and learnings from the likes of Seabrook and Keith and could run this blueline.
No, Murphy won't put up a bunch of points. No, he isn't sexy. And yes, he could be traded any day (which would make this blog totally suck) but as it stands now, he's a more important piece to this blueline than most admit right now. He should be a staple on his reasonable $3.85M contract (until 2021-22) until further notice.
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