The Chicago Blackhawks announced that defenceman Connor Murphy will be out a “couple of weeks” with an upper-body injury.
Coach Colliton says Connor Murphy (lower body) will be out for a couple of weeks. #Blackhawks
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 23, 2019
Connor Murphy To Miss Time
This is the same injury that kept Murphy out of the line-up on opening night. It seems that he re-aggravated the injury last night. He left last night’s game vs Vegas Golden Knights after playing only 12 minutes.
So far this season, Murphy has five assists to go along with two minutes in penalties. His possession numbers are 57.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +11.3.
Over his six-year National Hockey League career, Murphy has played for the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks. He has 20 goals and 56 assists for 76 career points in 392 career games. He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes 20th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft.
What This Means for the Future
With Murphy out of the line-up expect Brent Seabrook to move up on to the pairing along with Duncan Keith. Murphy has struggled with injuries throughout his career and missed 30 games with a back injury last season. He’s proven to be a bigger asset on the defensive end of the ice than on offense throughout his career up to this point.
The injury to Murphy may help explain the trade Chicago made in acquiring Ian McCoshen from the Florida Panthers. McCoshen was assigned to the American Hockey League but expect the Blackhawks to call up another defenceman while Murphy is out.
While Seabrook moves up to the top line expect Slater Koekkoek to get some playing time. Koekkoek has played in two games this season has yet to record a point. He has six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 109 career games. He was traded to Blackhawks back in January in a deal that sent Jan Rutta to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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