The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Connor Murphy on the injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 31 as he’s still dealing with a groin injury.
While Chicago made that move, the team activated veteran defenseman Alec Martinez from the injured reserve in his place. Martinez was out of the lineup due to a neck injury and he has only played 15 games this season.
It seems likely that the veteran defenseman will slot in on the top pairing to play with Seth Jones and slide in on the top penalty killing unit as well. Martinez has one goal and four points on the season. He averages over 20 minutes of ice time per game and has 38 blocks.
The Blackhawks will continue to miss Murphy though as the 31-year-old has one goal and 13 points, averages 20:33 of ice time per game, has recorded 70 hits, and 93 blocks. He has logged over 85 minutes on the penalty kill this season.
Neither Murphy being injured or Martinez coming back is going to change anything drastically for the Blackhawks this season as they are still last in the NHL and are in a rebuild. Martinez may be a trade chip as the trade deadline approaches and we may also hear Murphy’s name out there as he has just one more year on his deal after 2024-25.
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