Blackhawks’ Connor Murphy set to return following 13-game absence due to groin injury

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy is set to return to the lineup after missing the past 13 games due to a groin injury, reports Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.

Sidelined since late December, Murphy has been limited to 38 appearances on the season in which he has registered one goal and 12 assists for 13 points alongside 38 penalty minutes and a minus-four rating.

The 2024-25 campaign marks the second straight season in which Murphy has missed significant playing time due to injury. Last season, Murphy made just 46 appearances due to a groin injury before wrapping up 2023-24 with eight points counting two goals and six assists.

Skating in his eighth season with Chicago, Murphy joined the Blackhawks in 2017 as part of the deal that shipped former rearguard Niklas Hjalmarsson to the former Arizona Coyotes, who had originally chosen Murphy with the 20th overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft.

In all, through 715 career contests with the Coyotes and Blackhawks, Murphy has registered 42 goals and 112 assists for 154 points alongside 475 penalty minutes. The 31-year-old native of Dublin, Ohio, has also seen success in international competition, underscored by a gold medal at the 2013 World Juniors plus two bronze-medal finishes at the IIHF World Championship.

A graduate of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, Murphy also spent two seasons in the junior circuit where through 68 total appearances he tallied 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points.

Per PuckPedia, Murphy is in the third year of a four-year pact that carries a $4.4-million annual average value.

Murphy will make his return Saturday when the Blackhawks head to Sunrise to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. On the season, the Blackhawks sit 16-30-5 and 20 points back of a playoff position in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2020.