Confirmed with Link: Chicago trades Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy, Laurent Dauphin

[lanky]

I think Murphy performed like a 2nd pairing player the past two seasons. He has potential to grow into a steady partner for Keith. He hasn't proven capable of that yet, though he might very soon. He's been better than 3rd pairing (by NHL standard) for a couple years.

 

[cobra427]

Agreed, he's got all the tools in the world. I think playfair held him back.

You mean like Runblad/Gormley. I suspect Tip/playfair gave Murphy the 1RHD spot on a silver platter and every opportunity to take it. With our crappy D situation he wound up as a 3RHD. Murphy will get eaten alive in Chicago by fans, the press, and the coaching staff. I hope I am wrong and Murphy succeeds.

 

[Matias Maccete]

You mean like Runblad/Gormley. I suspect Tip/playfair gave Murphy the 1RHD spot on a silver platter and every opportunity to take it. With our crappy D situation he wound up as a 3RHD. Murphy will get eaten alive in Chicago by fans, the press, and the coaching staff. I hope I am wrong and Murphy succeeds.

Rundblad/Gormley did not have all the tools Murphy has.

Murphy definitely had a shot at the 1rd slot, you don't have to suggest it, but that's not what I was saying. I'm saying our defensive coverage systems and systems in general may have made him look worse than he really is.

He looked great at the world championships every year. I think it's possible that the world championship version of Murphy is what Chicago gets, because of their superior coaching. Of course it's also possible Murphy's play last year will carry over to this year.

 

[Hinterland]

I think Murphy performed like a 2nd pairing player the past two seasons. He has potential to grow into a steady partner for Keith. He hasn't proven capable of that yet, though he might very soon. He's been better than 3rd pairing (by NHL standard) for a couple years.

I agree. He was better than his reputation. And with him, the Coyotes lose quite a bit of toughness and leadership...
I like Hjalmarsson as well but that's a trade a contender should have made...not the Coyotes. Especially since shotblockers tend to decline rather early and quickly.

 

[hbk]

I agree. He was better than his reputation. And with him, the Coyotes lose quite a bit of toughness and leadership...
I like Hjalmarsson as well but that's a trade a contender should have made...not the Coyotes. Especially since shotblockers tend to decline rather early and quickly.

Remember when we all questioned Maloney decision to trade Wolski for Roszival to the Rangers? On paper we were getting killed but Roszival really solidified our top 4. Hjarlmarsson does that for AZ. He will play heavy minutes in key situations and allow us to better integrate our younger D into the mix.

We didn't buy high here. Dauphin is waiver eligible soon and Murphy will never be a top pairing D. We had a huge gap that we needed to fill and AZ did. It's easier to acquire a 4/5 D then it is a player like Hjarlmassen.

 

[Grimes]

Remember when we all questioned Maloney decision to trade Wolski for Roszival to the Rangers? On paper we were getting killed but Roszival really solidified our top 4. Hjarlmarsson does that for AZ. He will play heavy minutes in key situations and allow us to better integrate our younger D into the mix.

We didn't buy high here. Dauphin is waiver eligible soon and Murphy will never be a top pairing D. We had a huge gap that we needed to fill and AZ did. It's easier to acquire a 4/5 D then it is a player like Hjarlmassen.

1. It blows my mind thay Rosival is still playing. That worked out really well for Chicago, even if he is their 7.

2. Hjarlmassen is going to help bring in the prospects by eating up said minutes. When you look at Stone's drvelopment curve, he was really looking like he could becone a very solid 2-way second pairing defenseman when Kesla, Morris were healthy. As soon as we lost those type of stable minute eaters, he began looking like he was playing above his head. Same for Murphy when he came up. Both flashed signs that they could become solid 2nd pairing defensmen (Murphy even looked like a legit top line shutdown guy here and there) but the consistancy was never there. Perhaps ot was fron exhaustion, or tough matchups, but neither ever looked 100% comfortable with their roles.

Hjarlmassen will help bring uo Wood and Chychrun and make the transition easier, allowing these players to slowly get acclimated to tougher and larger amounts of minutes. I hope by the time Hjarlmassen needs to resign Wood will have a full season on the team, and Chychrun consistantly look like a solid 2nd pairing guy. Being brought up slowly and on the appropriate line is something Murphy never had the luxary of, and Stone only had for a season.

 

[Jakey53]

Remember when we all questioned Maloney decision to trade Wolski for Roszival to the Rangers? On paper we were getting killed but Roszival really solidified our top 4. Hjarlmarsson does that for AZ. He will play heavy minutes in key situations and allow us to better integrate our younger D into the mix.

We didn't buy high here. Dauphin is waiver eligible soon and Murphy will never be a top pairing D. We had a huge gap that we needed to fill and AZ did. It's easier to acquire a 4/5 D then it is a player like Hjarlmassen.

Exactly. Murphy will not be missed.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

Exactly. Murphy will not be missed.

On one hand yes, but on the other if we would have been able to retain Murphy (I know, wouldn't have happened), we would not have the RHD problem we now have.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Because of our overall lack of talent over the past decade we have always given Murphy types more responsibility than would be appropriate given their skill levels. I have no issue with Murphy. He was asked to do more than he could. He will make a fine 3rd pairing guy and occasional 2nd pairing guy given the right match ups.

Correct.

He was maybe given more responsibility than should have been put on him. However, if there were still indications that Murphy was going to top out as a 1/2 pairing, then the reason for trading him makes no sense.

Based off of the deal he signed, it would make me think that the Coyotes had plans for him to at least be a #3/#4 defender with a strong chance of getting to the top line in a year or two, at the very longest. Turns out, Murphy probably was far more comparable to a player like Stone or Schenn, who are never going to be confused with top line players.

 

[Jakey53]

On one hand yes, but on the other if we would have been able to retain Murphy (I know, wouldn't have happened), we would not have the RHD problem we now have.

I'm more pissed we lost DeAngelo.

 

[ColdSteel2]

How has Hammer looked so far for you guys? I'm genuinely curious, not trolling. I thought he was bordering washed up the last quarter of the season and playoffs so I'm interested to see if he is rejuvenated now and also how he will look at the end of the year and playoffs (hopefully). So far, Murphy looks like a good bottom pairing guy who throws a lot of hits but hasn't proven to be a clear cut 2nd pairing guy yet. Offensively I haven't seen much now or in the preseason. Was hoping for more but understand it will take some time for him to adjust. I like his physical skills though. Dauphin looked great in the preseason and I am surprised he didn't make the team out of camp. He has the potential to make this a good deal for us even if Murphy isn't what he hoped he'd be. Thanks, I'll come back a couple more times later on in the year when we all have a better read on things. I'm sure you all watched a lot of Chicago playoff games during our runs so you probably have a solid base knowledge to compare Hammer.

 

[Matias Maccete]

I've liked him quite a bit so far, he's a great partner for OEL. He's better with the puck than I thought he'd be too.

 

[rt]

The coaching staff has been extremely impressed with Hjalmarsson's professionalism and approach to preparing for the season. We had a country club environment here and Hjalmarsson came in working like champions work, which was a relief to Rick Tocchet who is accustomed to the work ethic of champions himself. The rest of the team was not putting in that kind of work and Tocchet was fairly disgusted early on. Dave Tippett left a ton of bad habits behind. So the coaching staff has been very appreciative of the example Hjalmarsson is setting. He's a core component of our new leadership group. Along with OEL, he's the only other permanent Alternate Captain on the team. The third A is revolving.

On the ice our defensemen have had a serious adjustment issue. They've been extremely erratic. Our first two games have been chaos. This is not true of our first pairing and it's because Hjalmarsson has been rock solid. He's the only D on the team that I can say hasn't made any mistakes in the first two games. He's played exactly as his reputation suggests.

So I guess the short answer is that Hjalmarsson has been solid but compared to the rest of his teammates he's been spectacular.

 

[awfulwaffle]

I like the comment more about his work ethic more so than his play on the ice. The play on the ice hopefully will come with this group after playing together more and getting used to Tocchet. But if he is the one in the room that is putting forth an effort while everyone else is expecting to get driven around in a golf cart(although I can't imagine Stepan not having a good work ethic), that alone is a great reason to trade for him. Other players should be looking at that and saying "Hey, we haven't been doing well down here, but he's been on a championship team, that's what we need to do."

 

[KG]

I think you're speculating a little too much on Tocchet's opinion of the player's preparedness. We're there more comments made besides the one on day 1 of camp?

 

[cobra427]

How has Hammer looked so far for you guys? I'm genuinely curious, not trolling. I thought he was bordering washed up the last quarter of the season and playoffs so I'm interested to see if he is rejuvenated now and also how he will look at the end of the year and playoffs (hopefully). So far, Murphy looks like a good bottom pairing guy who throws a lot of hits but hasn't proven to be a clear cut 2nd pairing guy yet. Offensively I haven't seen much now or in the preseason. Was hoping for more but understand it will take some time for him to adjust. I like his physical skills though. Dauphin looked great in the preseason and I am surprised he didn't make the team out of camp. He has the potential to make this a good deal for us even if Murphy isn't what he hoped he'd be. Thanks, I'll come back a couple more times later on in the year when we all have a better read on things. I'm sure you all watched a lot of Chicago playoff games during our runs so you probably have a solid base knowledge to compare Hammer.

Hammer has been as advertised, very solid and a good partner for OEL. keep in mind it is still early. As for Murphy, he was a 3RHD last year. I can't figure out why Chicago traded for him. Murphy might have second pairing upside. Like Runblad/Gormley, Murphy was given every opportunity by Tip, and he just couldn't cut it, even playing with OEL.

 

[ColdSteel2]

Hammer has been as advertised, very solid and a good partner for OEL. keep in mind it is still early. As for Murphy, he was a 3RHD last year. I can't figure out why Chicago traded for him. Murphy might have second pairing upside. Like Runblad/Gormley, Murphy was given every opportunity by Tip, and he just couldn't cut it, even playing with OEL.

Glad to hear he is doing well so far and being a leader, nice to see him with an A. Yeah, Murph is a 3RHD right now, gonna take a lot longer to see what we have there than I hoped. Absolutely love Dauphin though, tenacious, scored a few goals in the preseason.

 

[rt]

I think you're speculating a little too much on Tocchet's opinion of the player's preparedness. We're there more comments made besides the one on day 1 of camp?

There were direct comments about Hjalmarsson having superior work ethic and preparedness. Specifically that of a champion. Then there were comments about guys not being better prepared. Since there have been comments about what it takes to win both in games and in preparation for those games.

Tocchet has made a number of comments that are easy to connect and read between the lines a bit. But no, he didn't issue a press release explaining that he walked into a country club and Hjalmarsson is one of a few good examples of how champions approach their daily jobs as hockey players. That did not happen.

 

[Toadie]

Hjalmarsson has been great but OEL seems a lil lost. Hopefully, he improves quickly as he will impact the team in the most positive manner

 

[Eye of Ra]

bad start for hjalmarsson?

 

[SniperHF]

bad start for hjalmarsson?

Quite the opposite.

 

[rt]

bad start for hjalmarsson?

2nd best player on the team. 3rd place is about 15 miles behind and I couldn't even tell you who it is.

 

[XX]

bad start for hjalmarsson?

He is a pro and AZ doesn't really deserve his play so far. Unfortunate that he got hurt tonight. Hope it isn't serious, because games would be a lot uglier without his calm presence back there. His ability to babysit basically negates the weaknesses of the clowns Goligoski and Demers. Absolutely vital.

 

[Llewzaher]

I'm more pissed we lost DeAngelo.

He is back in the minors I think..

I would prefer him to Connauton , and Goligoski... Those guys hesitate way too much in our own end... And turn over the puck. Connauton especially tonight.

 

[Plub]

He's too smart for this team. When he purposefully missed the net to get the puck to bounce in front of the net the forwards looked puzzled like it was something they'd never considered before; all three skating in different directions.