The Edmonton Oilers know how to put the puck in the back of the net, having scored 22 goals over their last four games. Their obvious problem, however, is keeping it out of their own, and the recent addition of Connor Murphy should help with that.

The Oilers have elite offensive talent that other NHL teams can only dream about. In Murphy, they’re adding a heavy at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, right-handed defensive specialist the team has needed since the departure of former Oiler Adam Larsson.

As Zach Laing noted, the newest Oiler D-man has posted strong suppression rates over the last two seasons. With him on the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks have given up just 2.47 goals against per hour at five-on-five, compared to 3.15 with him off the ice. Also, to show just how much the Blackhawks relied on Murphy’s defensive acumen, according to Natural Stat Trick, the blueliner had the second-most defensive zone starts on the team (252) compared to only 55 offensive zone starts.

Adding to that, Oilers’ general manager Stan Bowman discussed the qualities he values in the team’s newest D-man on the OilersNow show, saying:

“He’s someone that takes a lot of pride in playing defence and being hard to play against. He’s got that physical side, and he’s willing to play a rugged game. I think he enjoys the challenge of playing against good players and trying to shut them down. That’s what — he knows what he is as a player, and if I had to say one thing about him, it’s that he has a clear identity as someone that takes a lot of pride in playing hard defence.

Whether it’s battling in front of the net, in the corners, blocking shots, making a simple play, or getting the puck going to the offensive zone, I think those are attributes that are in high demand in pressure situations. I think it’s a lot of what we’re lacking right now, and he’ll be a nice addition to our defensive group.”

Hearing that, it’s quite the tune Bowman is singing compared to last season, when the Oilers’ identity on the backend seemed to favour puck movers, like John Klingberg, who played in the top four in stretches during last playoffs. But giving up 16 goals over the Oilers’ last four games suggests the team needs a solid, not flashy,........

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