I would really love to see both of these guys get a chance. I was very surprised to see how much Eckford exploded offensively down on the farm. Maybe this is his time. Zharkov is doing really well too, if he isn’t ready yet, he will be soon.

I think why Murphy was sent down is pretty clear in how little ice time he has received. Here’s his time on ice in the past 5 games:

10:45, 7:42, 12:39, 10:37, 8:26.

For a third-pairing defenseman, that’s incredibly limited ice time. From that standpoint, if the #6 defenseman is going to see such little ice time, why not call up a prospect like Eckford or Corrente and see how he does for a few games? Unless he’s abysmal, he’s not going to dramatically hurt the team in a game.

It’s clear to me that Lemaire and the coaching staff are not at comfortable with how Murphy has played with limited minutes. It’s unfortunate that Murphy hasn’t played better and made a case for more ice time. Yet, I can’t say that he got a raw deal in being sent down.

Just for a fun contrast, here is Mark Fraser’s ice time in the last 5 games:

15:12, 12:30, 14:08, 13:26, 12:00

Still lower than what I’d expect from a third pairing defender, but it’s considerably more time than Murphy – proof that the coaches are comfortable with his game. Given that he used to get as little time as Murphy did, his increased minutes is also a sign of improvement from Fraser and being rewarded for it. Maybe the Devils will have lightning strike again with another Lowell defender like Eckford or Corrente.