6-foot-4 Right-Hand Defenseman Emerges as Maple Leafs Ideal Upgrade, per NHL Analyst
A new article from NHL Analyst Shane Seney has Toronto urged to firmly set their sights on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy.
You can't seem to get away from the trade rumors surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whether it's being linked to big name players like Brayden Schenn and Dylan Cozens to smaller-named targets like Jake Evans or Ryan Donato -- the team is going make a big deal regardless.
The Leafs Nation contributor and NHL Hockey Analyst Shane Seney believes believes the best deal possible for the Maple Leafs would be to shore up their defense with Chicago's Connor Murphy:
Murphy is a keep-it-simple type of defenceman, and with over 700 games of NHL experience, is quite predictable as far as knowing what you're getting on a nightly basis.
There's not much flashy to his game, which could appeal to Treliving, Berube and company. Like most trades, it's just going to come down to asking price, and how much salary Davidson is willing to eat.
With Brad Treliving under pressure to make some type of deal either for a center or defenseman -- Should he target Murphy? Let's take a look.
Connor Murphy A Perfect Trade Target For Toronto's Blueline
Morgan Rielly has been struggling this season to keep some type of consistency, and while his offensive numbers are decent, defensively -- it's been rough.
Adding a shutdown, no-nonsense player like Murphy would give him the confidence to pinch down low and be part of the offense without having to struggle to get back as much.
He's a huge improvement over Philippe Myers and Conor Timmins. While Myers has been serviceable, Timmins has been downright brutal at times and neither man is the type of defenseman Toronto needs especially come playoff time.
This season, Murphy has one goal and 12 assists in 42 games but also adds 100 blocks and 72 hits for the Blackhawks.
Over his 12-year career, Murphy has 42 goals and 112 assists in 719 games -- but has 1,414 blocks and 1,527 hits (averaging 161 and 174 per season respectively.)
If Toronto can get salary retention on the deal, his $4.4M contract becomes much easier to handle and would provide the team a solid Top-4 going into the playoffs.
He'll cost more than other targets from Chicago like Donato, but if Toronto can swing both in a deal -- it's a massive boost for fairly cheap.
Whatever route Brad Treliving is going down, its end goal is to bring in the best possible pieces. Murphy would fit perfectly with the team -- But will he be enough to help Toronto push for a Cup?
