Confirmed Signing with Link: [COL] Ryan Murray signs with the Avalanche (1 year, $2M)

[Richard88]

NJ's most common D pairs last season.

Murray split his time quite evenly with Severson/Vatanen/Subban, and with all three of them he posted ~48% Corsi.

 

[Richard88]

Get out of the Graves contract and add Murray for 1 year and 2 million. Not bad, Joe. Not bad.

Graves for Murray + Maltsev + 2nd (Sean Behrens) + $1.16m in capspace in 2021/22 + $3.16m capspace in 2022/23.

 

[majormajor]

I took a look at his metrics and it does seem that he had a very up-and-down year.

He started off on the top 2 pairings, then fell off hard in the middle of the year, before a resurgence of sorts in April where he got more icetime.


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Looking at his gamelog and Corsi below it does seem like he started off strong, with 6 of his first 7 games being 50% or above.

He then had a stretch of 16 games with only 4 over 50%, followed by a stretch of 18 games with 9 over 50%, and then closed out the season with 1 of 7 games over 50%.

Based on these basic metrics that he had a very strong start, lost icetime in early February-late March for performing poorly, then had a resurgence of sorts in April, before flatlining a bit in the last few games.


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I checked the relative results in the game log - and Murray wasn't doing better than his teammates in terms of CF%Rel and xGF%Rel in the beginning, but did outperform the team in the last 11 games.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

I've always wanted Ryan Murray but kinda think we need to get another big tough dman who can PK. I guess we are going all in with smooth skaters. Toews, Makar, Girard, Byram, Murray. Jesus that group can skate and hockey IQ is off the charts but can they clear the crease?

 

[KristichBabych]

I've always wanted Ryan Murray but kinda think we need to get another big tough dman who can PK. I guess we are going all in with smooth skaters. Toews, Makar, Girard, Byram, Murray. Jesus that group can skate and hockey IQ is off the charts but can they clear the crease?

No! Good luck again in playoffs...

 

[Stephen]

Quite like this for the Avalanche. Murray is a question mark and has injury history but is a talented LHD and will be insulated on the Avs. Maybe he rediscovers his game.

 

[Guttersniped]

I checked the relative results in the game log - and Murray wasn't doing better than his teammates in terms of CF%Rel and xGF%Rel in the beginning, but did outperform the team in the last 11 games.

Murray was playing with Severson at the end and he had success with Nutivaara in CBJ, he might just pair really well with puck movers. Severson also hit a rough patch with a broken toe mid-season but he pulled it together at the end there when we were missing a lot of guys.

Also the Devils didn’t play in the bubble, had the worst condensed schedule in the NHL until the nightmare in Vancouver and were a not very good team in a brutal division. We had a new coach, a lot new players, rookies, with no real pre-season or full practice days.

Ruff also didn’t comparatively fiddle that much with his defensive pairing. The Subban/Murray pairing didn’t work and the Subban/Kulikov did. Vantanen was a late signing who didn’t hit the ice until mid-February due to visa issues. Murray had work his way back in after falling out of favor.

This is likely too much inside baseball for non-Devils fans and eyes have probably glazed over but I guess my point is that despite him playing 48 games, it was a very weird season and we were a mess/development year so you can only learn so much from that. If used right I think Murray could be a very usual, even great, addition to the Avs.

His health of course is a big question mark but I’m not going to try to guess what the odds of him staying healthy and productive are because it would just be a guess.

 

[bossram]

I've always wanted Ryan Murray but kinda think we need to get another big tough dman who can PK. I guess we are going all in with smooth skaters. Toews, Makar, Girard, Byram, Murray. Jesus that group can skate and hockey IQ is off the charts but can they clear the crease?

Well, Murray is definitely a more defensive-oriented player and plays on the PK, so he'll fill those roles.

I respect Sakic for sticking to his guns and executing the vision of the team he wants to build. The Avs are a puck-moving, quick-transition, skating team. They need mobile defensemen who can retrieve pucks quickly and either skate or pass it out. He wants all his blueliners able to execute this. I think the best strategy for them is to maximize what they're good at.

Even watching the playoffs, the "big, gritty" defensemen on the roster, likes Graves and Nemeth, looked the worst to my eye. They couldn't handle Vegas' forecheck because they couldn't move the puck quick enough without bobbling it. I don't think they fit the Avs' system (and a guy like Graves has issues because he thinks he fits the Avs' system and tries to play like Makar without any of the physical talent). IMO they should've had MacDonald in there for Nemeth, at least.

I want to see it. All-out speed and skill:
Toews - Makar
Murray - Girard
MacDonald/Byram - EJ

 

[PromisedLand]

Hopefully Avs stay healthy and are able to go really go for it with Kadri still playing

Kadri will always be loved by certain Leafs fans; and Mack is a freakin' BEAST! Mack deserves a cup IMO before his new deal kicks in because after that it won't be easy for the Avs to win unless the cap increases significantly which we all know aint gonna happen anytime soon.

 

[The Macho King]

My viewings of him have him as one of those high ceiling low floor guys. Probably wouldn't be out of place as the weaker partner in a second pairing, but ideally a third pairing guy.

I don't know how he compares to Graves, but he won't be terrible.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Know he had some injury issues, hope that's behind him!

 

[Patagonia]

Graves for Murray + Maltsev + 2nd (Sean Behrens) + $1.16m in capspace in 2021/22 + $3.16m capspace in 2022/23.

Murray is a nice depth signing. Bottom pairing role which should suit him well and hopefully prevent another addition to his lengthy history of injuries.

 

[Richard88]

Murray is a nice depth signing. Bottom pairing role which should suit him well and hopefully prevent another addition to his lengthy history of injuries.

If Barron has a good showing in the AHL and in his likely call-up this year we could be looking at Murray being a 7D of sorts by the playoffs whereby you can really manage his minutes to keep him fresh longer down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Toews -- Makar
Girard -- Johnson
Byram -- Barron
Murray

 

[Bounces R Way]

Should fit in well there, I dunno if you can view it as a massive steal though. Just decent value for a guy trying to keep his career going. He was healthy scratched last year on one of the worst bluelines in the league. Makes sense that teams weren't looking to give out a lot of term for a guy with his injury history.

 

[McJedi]

He had Covid at one point and the Devils used the games down the stretch to get looks at players like Siegenthaler, Bahl and I believe even Carrick and White.

Murray was one of the better defensemen for the Devils and was a big part of the better-than-expected start; before he was either injured or sick.

With a full off-season to recuperate and prepare he should be a strong addition for the Avalanche.

If you view it as Graves for Murray it seems Colorado is getting the better of the deal.

Graves is good. You’ll like him. Very durable. Long and active stick. Very willing shot blocker. Got meaner this season and started to use his size to hit things. Good skater and never got beat wide or one vs one. Solid PK.

He can’t pass well and he jumps into the O zone with too much enthusiasm. Not the best hockey IQ.

But Graves is a high end bottom pair player.

 

[Del Preston]

Bob Stauffer (Edmonton radio) says Murray turned down more money from worse teams. The Oilers offered way less than $2M. He didn't mention any other teams, though. Friedman last week said the Flames were interested too.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Feel like the Devils would've been better off with just re-signing Murray than trading for Graves, although with Murray you kinda never know when he's going to be in playing shape.

 

[Oneiro]

Feel like the Devils would've been better off with just re-signing Murray than trading for Graves, although with Murray you kinda never know when he's going to be in playing shape.

While Graves isn't a bruiser, he does have more size than Murray and that's a sticking point for a team who has some key players (Hughes, Bratt, Smith) under 6'.

Murray was actually very good for NJ until COVID hit the team. He was playing a clean efficient game, perfect for a young team. I think he'll do even better in Colorado, where the pressure is off. He's a very good puckmover.

I wish we could've traded and retained on Subban, moved Smith to the right side and kept both Murray and Graves.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Bob Stauffer (Edmonton radio) says Murray turned down more money from worse teams. The Oilers offered way less than $2M. He didn't mention any other teams, though. Friedman last week said the Flames were interested too.

How much is way less than $2M?

Holland wanted this man to play for free.

 

[Hextallent63]

wow suprised at this contract and looks like a great move, has his stock gone down? was a fan of his and thought he was really good on the blue jackets. forgot he was with the devils though.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Graves is good. You’ll like him. Very durable. Long and active stick. Very willing shot blocker. Got meaner this season and started to use his size to hit things. Good skater and never got beat wide or one vs one. Solid PK.

He can’t pass well and he jumps into the O zone with too much enthusiasm. Not the best hockey IQ.

But Graves is a high end bottom pair player.

Sorry if I gave the impression that I was disparaging Ryan Graves.

My post was praising the play of Murray.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Everyone arguing over if Kuemper is an improvement or not. Why not judge after seeing him on a much better team. Arizona was a dumpster fire and he was still good

 

[TheRarestDangles]

Something something injury history... something something if he can stay healthy

 

[McJedi]

Sorry if I gave the impression that I was disparaging Ryan Graves.

My post was praising the play of Murray.

I was just giving you a take on Graves. He’s a good player. Very high end 3rd pair. He played second pair for the Avs but it exposed his puck moving deficits. But he’s a good penalty killer and he’s improving his defensive acumen.

Graves is underrated on these boards. Lots of casual fans that don’t really know what they are seeing when they watch games. But give their ignorant hot takes with vigor. They Judge defense by how well they play offense. Graves isn’t very good offensively not in making outlet passes.

But he got a lot better defensively this year. It’s not sexy but deflecting a lot of passes thru the slot into the stands is pretty important aspect of a defenders job. Graves affects all kinds of passes and passing lanes with his active and long stick. He never once got walked either. Can’t think of a single time he got beat one vs one.

 

[My3Sons]

I was just giving you a take on Graves. He’s a good player. Very high end 3rd pair. He played second pair for the Avs but it exposed his puck moving deficits. But he’s a good penalty killer and he’s improving his defensive acumen.

Graves is underrated on these boards. Lots of casual fans that don’t really know what they are seeing when they watch games. But give their ignorant hot takes with vigor. They Judge defense by how well they play offense. Graves isn’t very good offensively not in making outlet passes.

But he got a lot better defensively this year. It’s not sexy but deflecting a lot of passes thru the slot into the stands is pretty important aspect of a defenders job. Graves affects all kinds of passes and passing lanes with his active and long stick. He never once got walked either. Can’t think of a single time he got beat one vs one.

In NJ he probably has to play with Hamilton this season unless Smith is ready to take over that role. I think the ultimate plan is to move Graves down the pairings as the young guys develop. Hopefully he can handle playing in a conservative defense first role. I don't think in NJ he will be asked to do too much to move the puck. The new GM sees long rangy defenders as important. Graves certainly fits that profile. As for Murray, he should be very good for COL in a limited depth role. He's a solid all around defender. He's not flashy but in COL he won't have to be. He's very sound positionally and skates well. He's not that physical but with his back that's probably for the best. At his cap hit I do not see a bad outcome for COL on Murray.