Defenseman Connor Murphy, the Blackhawks’ part-time locker-room DJ, discusses music and more in this week’s Chat Room

Murphy discussed music, shopping for his new apartment and why a meathead YouTuber is out to get him in this week’s Chat Room.

SHARE Defenseman Connor Murphy, the Blackhawks’ part-time locker-room DJ, discusses music and more in this week’s Chat Room
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Murphy discussed music, shopping for his new apartment and why a meathead vlogger is out to get him in this week’s Chat Room.

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Different music fills the Blackhawks’ dressing room on any given day. Sometimes, it’s Post Malone. Other times, it’s Drake. On rare occasions, a country song might be played. 

There’s a lot of pressure when you’re the locker-room DJ, a role defenseman Connor Murphy gladly accepted at the beginning of the season. It’s on you to read the room’s mood and decide whether the team needs a mellow tune for background music or a rap track to get pumped up.

“There’s a lot I’ve learned from different DJs I’ve had on teams over the years,” said Murphy, one of several players in charge of the Hawks’ aux cord. “You’re not ever going to keep everyone happy, but you’ve got to be able to keep a majority of the guys happy because the majority will always trump the guy who’s going to complain about it.”

Overall, center Dylan Strome thinks Murphy is doing a pretty good job as the team’s part-time DJ.

“He always gets the guys going, and he usually knows what the guys are feeling,” Strome said. “At 9 a.m., he’s not bumping hard rock or something, so he’s got good taste.” 

Murphy discussed music, shopping for his new apartment and why a meathead YouTuber is out to get him in this week’s Chat Room.

How did you become the designated locker-room DJ?

Connor Murphy: “Nobody else wanted to do it. . . . I started at it this year, but now other guys [Jonathan Toews and Zack Smith] are doing it more. So I’m not even the full-time DJ. It’s just that I started, and if I hear it’s a quiet room, I like to put something on just because no one likes it when it’s quiet. It’s awkward.’’

Who has the worst taste in music?

CM: “There are different arguments with that. [Andrew Shaw] might be up there because he’s comfortable putting his stuff on. He got booed a couple of times. I think he plays, like, ’80s and ’70s music, so obviously that’s not going to go over well with a lot of the young guys.”

What song is your guilty pleasure?

CM: “One of my favorites that would not be the coolest to admit, yeah, probably . . . the Kesha song ‘Praying.’ You know that one? That one gets the feels. Because there’s ones like that that are just deep and heartfelt. That would probably be the one I wouldn’t want playing around too many people.”

What did you do to pass the time when you were sidelined with your groin injury earlier this season? 

CM: “I [moved] into an apartment during the summer, so decorating that — as bad as that sounds. Because it has to be done. . . . I had a box spring and mattress on the floor for a while, so I had to order a new bed and try to have a bit of taste in that stuff to fill the apartment. So I was doing a bit of that, some shopping, and I like trying out different restaurants in the city. There’s a lot in Chicago.”

What’s one item you bought for your apartment that you’re most proud of?

CM:“I have this portrait wall where you have a collage of pictures that are all in a grid. Like, you have nine pictures, so it’s three-three-three, and they’re all perfectly aligned. I’m very OCD, things need to be, like, lined up. And I couldn’t do it because it’s impossible to have frames lined up perfectly, so I had someone do it, but I love the picture wall.”

You’re a self-proclaimed foodie, so what are some of your favorite spots in the city?

CM:“Probably, like, Momotaro, Gibsons Italia. I like Tao. There’s a bunch I’m missing, but that’s what’s amazing: You can go to a different spot every night here. . . . I go to True Food [Kitchen] too much. Because I eat healthy, so it’s so easy to get, and Uber Eats makes it way too easy.” 

When I was preparing to do this Q&A, I googled your name.

CM: “Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.” 

Have you ever looked yourself up? 

CM: “I haven’t, but that’s a hot topic. Everyone texts me about that, and it doesn’t change. It’s been like that for a few years. No one’s changed it. I think everyone realizes it’s funny, so they just leave it. 

“A couple of years ago, [Connor Murphy, a YouTube star and fitness influencer,] commented on one of my Instagram pictures and told people to unfollow me, that I was a fake and that he was the real Connor Murphy. So he’s out to get me, I think. 

“But it’s funny. I saw him on YouTube, and he’s kind of painful with some of the stuff he posts. But, yeah, it’s kind of interesting.”

Did you respond?

CM: “No, I just think it’s funny. Whatever. 

“I get, like, people DM-ing me pictures of them posing in front of a mirror with their shirts off — like, guys. Because they think it’s him and for whatever reason. Or they’ll tag me in a picture, and it’ll be some guy standing with his shirt off in the mirror, flexing and being like, ‘New preworkout drink is working for me’ or whatever, and he’ll tag me in it. . . . So I have random guys tagging me in pictures of them with their shirts off. It’s weird.”

Do you comment back?

CM: “No, that would be bad if I did.”

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