First playoff berth gives Connor Murphy chance to prove he’s Blackhawks’ new Niklas Hjalmarsson

A wealth of postseason experience has been mentioned frequently as a big advantage for the Blackhawks, the Western Conference’s No. 12 seed, when the modified playoffs finally begin.

But that experience doesn’t include Connor Murphy.

Murphy will make his first postseason appearance after 444 NHL games in seven seasons — four with the Coyotes and now three with the Hawks. His teams missed the playoffs in each of his first six seasons, and before this season paused March 12, he surely figured he’d miss out again.

Instead, the defensive defenseman — who celebrated his 27th birthday March 26 — will finally get his chance. Playoff hockey is precisely what Murphy’s style is designed for. He’s a vitally steady presence for a shaky defensive unit, averaging 21:15 of ice time per game this season, and he’s an increasingly relied-upon mentor and leader. This past winter, he was tasked with integrating waiver claim Nick Seeler and bringing along rookie Lucas Carlsson.

Murphy also has a spartan-like willingness to sacrifice his body: his 138 blocked shots led the Hawks by a mile, even though he missed 12 games with a groin injury.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

His mobility, awareness, positioning and stick placement in his own zone are as close to perfect as the Hawks have. And he’s coming off an especially great season. His 50.2% Corsi ratio ranked third on the team, and it’s even more impressive when considering he started many of his shifts in the defensive zone against opponents’ top lines. Indeed, opponents’ shot quantity and quality were 10 percentage points lower when Murphy was on the ice versus when he wasn’t, according to HockeyViz data.

He also chipped in five goals and had 14 assists, setting career highs in points (19) and shots (117) despite playing only 58 games — 20 fewer than his previous career high. He led all Hawks defenseman — even the offensively inclined Erik Gustafsson (before his trade) and Adam Boqvist — in individual shot attempts per minute and trailed only Boqvist in individual scoring chances per minute.

In spite of all that, Murphy remains a relatively unknown name in the Chicago sports scene. The reality is, it’s hard for a defenseman to attract recognition during the regular season. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, for example, would not have nearly the star status they do if not for their postseason performances.

So this long-awaited first playoff berth is not only deserved but also crucial for Murphy, who will finally enjoy an opportunity to cement himself as part of the Hawks’ long-term “new core.”

Fittingly, the role Murphy can try to fill is similar to that of Niklas Hjalmarsson, the player general manager Stan Bowman traded to the Coyotes to acquire Murphy in 2017. Hjalmarsson never tallied more than 26 points in any of his eight full seasons with the Hawks, and he scored just two playoff goals. But his determined, selfless postseason efforts — critical to all three Stanley Cup victories — made him a Hawk to remember nonetheless. His 1,186 blocked shots in the regular season were largely forgotten, unlike his 321 blocked shots in the postseason.

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Hjalmarsson, now three years into his tenure with the Coyotes, turns 33 on Saturday and may be entering the twilight of his career. A cracked fibula held him to just 27 games this season.

Murphy, meanwhile, is six years younger and seems to be just entering his peak. The broad-smiling Ohioan will never match Hjalmarsson’s hardware case, but he may well be every bit as talented and important a player.

And the 2020 playoffs, as odd and asterisk-marked as they’ll be (if they even happen), may be his opportunity to begin building his own reputation.