Carolina Hurricanes: Ryan Murphy is the Odd-Man Out on Defense
By Brett Finger
With a stock pile of talented blue liners, 22-year-old Ryan Murphy is becoming one of the odd-men out for the Carolina Hurricanes.
The biggest upside of the 2015-2016 season to date for the Carolina Hurricanes has been the performances from the young blue liners and the big steps they’ve taken in their development.
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With Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin all emerging as NHL regulars, the likes of Michal Jordan and, more notably, Ryan Murphy have fallen out of the line up and have been seeing more time in the AHL than the NHL.
Murphy is a name to follow as we get closer to the trade deadline and the offseason.
The young offensive defenseman has had a fine season, improving marginally in his own end and making smarter decisions with the puck on his stick. Despite this, Murphy has just 4 points in 18 games and is now suiting up for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL.
The 2011 first round draft pick has seemingly fallen out of the mix at the NHL level with so many young guys overachieving. He could make a run at cracking the lineup very soon this season, or maybe even next season, but it will only get more difficult for him.
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Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown will both turn pro after this season, and smart money says that one of them, likely Fleury, if not both of them will make a hard run at the opening night lineup. It also must be assumed that all of Hanifin, Pesce, and Slavin will all be on the NHL roster from day one starting in October of 2016.
With an assumed defensive core of Faulk, Hanifin, Pesce, Slavin, and Fleury, that leaves just 2 more spots for the likes of the aforementioned Ryan Murphy, Michal Jordan, Trevor Carrick, Roland McKeown, and potential free agent additions. Ron Hainsey and John-Michael Liles are both UFA bound in July.
With 4 guys at or under the age of 24 set to man the blue line starting next season, will Ryan Murphy have a legitimate chance to be a part of the long term future of the team?
You can’t deny his talent as an offensive defenseman, and he is still just 22, but we have yet to see any remarkable consistency from him in terms of production in the NHL. Hanifin, Pesce and Slavin are already outperforming him both offensively and defensively as rookies.
A guy like Murphy is also a bit of a risk given his injury history and his lack of size, standing at just 5’11”, 185 pounds.
So, as of now, he seems to be that odd-man out, especially seeing the team excel as they have without his presence. The Carolina Hurricanes are 5-2-1 since sending him back to Charlotte, so I don’t think the organization is dying to get him back with the big club.
We wrote about the possibility of trading young blue liners last week, and it certainly seems that, if this is the direction GM Ron Francis wants to go, Ryan Murphy could be a prime candidate for him.
If the price is right for Murphy and the Hurricanes can get valuable pieces for the future, specifically at the forward positions or draft picks, a trade should not only be explored, but heavily considered.
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The Carolina Hurricanes will take on the Washington Capitals on Monday prior to the 4-day holiday break.