Arizona Coyotes Sign Connor Murphy To Six-Year Contract

Arizona Coyotes General Manager John Chayka announced that the team has signed 23-year-old defenseman Connor Murphy to a six-year, $23.1 million dollar contract.

On the heels of rumors about negotiations stalling with restricted free agent Tobias Rieder, General Manager John Chayka got another player locked up long term by signing Connor Murphy to a six-year deal.

The 23-year-old defenseman showed improvement last season after being paired with star defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and now he’s being rewarded for his performance and future potential.

The deal is worth $3.85M per year.

Chayka and the Arizona Coyotes press release on Murphy’s deal mentions their glee at locking him up long term:

Arizona Coyotes General Manager John Chayka announced today that the Coyotes have signed defenseman Connor Murphy to a six-year contract. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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“We are extremely pleased to sign Connor to a long-term contract,” said Chayka. “At only 23, Connor has established himself as a very good NHL defenseman. He’s a great skater, a fierce competitor and he has an excellent work ethic. We look forward to him taking the next step and having him on our blue line for many years to come.”

The 23-year-old Murphy registered 6-11-17 with 48 PIM in 78 games with the Coyotes in 2015-16 and has collected 11-21-32 in 181 career NHL games. Last season, the Dublin, Ohio native set career-highs in goals, assists and points and finished second on the team with 175 hits and 139 blocked shots.

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound defenseman was originally drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Coyotes in the 2011 Entry Draft.

Connor Murphy’s deal will cost the team up front in the hopes that they will wring value out of #5 on the back end.

The easiest comparable contract-wise for Murphy is Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm signed a six-year, $22.5 million dollar contract with the Preds last fall.

On the ice, however, the 26-year-old Ekholm has severely outperformed Murphy in nearly every category.

That begs the question…have the Coyotes and Chayka overpaid or did David Poile and the Predators get a hell of a bargain?

In 2015-16, Murphy’s pairing with Ekman-Larsson was the only Arizona Coyotes tandem that didn’t have fans cringing when the puck crossed the blue-line. Despite that fact, Murphy still has some hurdles to become an effective top-four defenseman.

With Murphy and OEL locked up, Alex Goligoski in the fold, and several other additions, John Chayka is betting heavily on an improved defensive unit in 2016-17.

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For Murphy, the deal may have been too good to pass up.

For the Arizona Coyotes, they are betting big on their own man and hoping it pays dividends as all of this youth reaches it’s zenith.