Matt Murray Appreciation Thread

[Zbynek]

And it's funny how an appreciation thread for MAF turned into a " I hate MAF because some of his fans are over the top and poor Matt Murray" thread instead of showing appreciation for a guy who played 14 years for us and is one of the reasons we won 3 Stanley Cups

What did Fleury do to win us the 2016 Cup, besides get concussed at the exact right time?
He won us regular season games? Bylsma could have done that too.

 

[Fordy]

I'll follow the penguins while also keeping an eye on how Fleury is doing in Vegas...and I hope he does well. But it seems that his fans being upset about him leaving seems to make all the Murray fans upset and angry

sounds like a waste of time

 

[Old Gregg]

sounds like a waste of time

Following the pens is a waste of time?

 

[Fordy]

Following the pens is a waste of time?

no the fleury part obvs

 

[Old Gregg]

no the fleury part obvs

Why?

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Mods, I beseech you to please kill my thread.

 

[wgknestrick]

Murray really does have the "calming" effect on everyone. Even watching the games, I don't really feel like the other team could score from just any shot. It settles me down, and I can't image the difference of being on the ice with him vs others. His elite ability to freeze the puck also helps deter shots from shooters as they don't want to be forced off the ice during a faceoff line change.

Murray is up there with Crosby and Malkin regarding relative value to the team. He's that good and demonstratively impactful to the team's goals against/game. I can see him transitioning to our best overall player as Crosby and Malkin continue to decline with age.

 

[Zbynek]

Fact remains that MAF diehards are clutching to this "Without Fleury, no 3 cups" when in reality, Murray won all the big games in '16 and '17.

Further, if Fleury didn't go down with a concussion at the end of the season there in 2016 we could be looking at a very different offseason right now.

 

[Old Gregg]

Fact remains that MAF diehards are clutching to this "Without Fleury, no 3 cups" when in reality, Murray won all the big games in '16 and '17.

Further, if Fleury didn't go down with a concussion at the end of the season there in 2016 we could be looking at a very different offseason right now.

I didn't realize Murray played in the second round against the capitals....

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Fact remains that MAF diehards are clutching to this "Without Fleury, no 3 cups" when in reality, Murray won all the big games in '16 and '17.

Further, if Fleury didn't go down with a concussion at the end of the season there in 2016 we could be looking at a very different offseason right now.

Wrong.

 

[Peat]

Murray really does have the "calming" effect on everyone.

We need to wheel him out and have calm down the fans then. Roll on the day we can praise to a goaltender without it being a big crapfest...

 

[Zbynek]

I didn't realize Murray played in the second round against the capitals....

We're the Pittsburgh Penguins, we care about Cups not Semifinal victories.

Also please explain how Fleury won us the Cup in '16. I'll wait.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Fact remains that MAF diehards are clutching to this "Without Fleury, no 3 cups"

Penguins success seems to be largely predicated on reducing Fleury's impact. Observe the team's outcomes during the Crosby-Malkin era:

2006-2007: Lost in the first round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2007-2008: Lost Stanley Cup final (Fleury injured, shares net with Conklin and Sabu)
2008-2009: Won Stanley Cup final (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2009-2010: Lost in second round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2010-2011: Lost in the first round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2011-2012: Lost in the first round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2012-2013: Lost in the EC Finals (Fleury is replaced by Vokoun early in the playoffs)
2013-2014: Lost in second round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2014-2015: Lost in the first round (Fleury is unquestioned starter)
2015-2016: Won Stanley Cup Final (Fleury injured, replaced by Murray shortly before playoffs)
2016-2017: Won Stanley Cup Final (Murray is starter, replaced Fleury in ECF)

Every time Fleury was replaced in some capacity, they made it at least as far as the ECF. The first Stanley Cup also looks like a weird outlier here; every other year that Fleury was the unquestioned starter, the team didn't make it past the second round.

Dude held the Pens back for ten years. Anyone who misses him does so for reasons other than hockey.

Now, Mods, please euthanize my thread. I didn't start it to be another stinking Fleury thread.

 

[Old Gregg]

We're the Pittsburgh Penguins, we care about Cups not Semifinal victories.

Also please explain how Fleury won us the Cup in '16. I'll wait.

Well you kind of need to win the semi finals to get a chance to play for the cup....

Also....I didn't say he won is the cup in 2016 I said he helped us... Without Fleury and Malkin playing the way they did at the beginning of the season... Who knows where that team would have ended up

 

[nbonaddio]

Fact remains that MAF diehards are clutching to this "Without Fleury, no 3 cups" when in reality, Murray won all the big games in '16 and '17.

Dude held the Pens back for ten years.

I mean, with such reasonable takes as this, I wonder why people are coming out of the woodwork..

We're the Pittsburgh Penguins, we care about Cups not Semifinal victories.

I assume then you have no philosophical problem with leaving Letang off the Cup then, right? He didn't really do all that much for us against Nashville. It was very thoughtful of Uncle Gary to give us a bye into the Cup finals and allowing us to avoid the #1 seed.

Anyone who misses him does so for reasons other than hockey.

Now, Mods, please euthanize my thread. I didn't start it to be another stinking Fleury thread.

First, so what if they do? That speaks to other intangible assets that a player brings to the table, in the locker room and in the community. You may not put any value on that, but people who operate hockey franchises clearly do.

As to your second point, again, what do you expect when half of the people, including yourself, in the thread can't discuss one without rolling out broadside disrespect for the other? You point to this idea of "Oh, it's the Facebook fans!" but I don't see any of that crap on here, it's completely the other way. You're expecting people to read something like the two quotes posted above and ignore it, while simultaneously ignoring the exact same garbage posted in the MAF appreciation thread.

 

[Zbynek]

Fact of the matter is that Murray came in relief of Fleury and won the Cup for the Pens, not once but twice.

Stanley Cup or Nothing dude.

 

[Fordy]

wait now we're denying fleury held them back for years? what was the psychologist about then

obvs my love for murray is intensified by the miserable years fleury turned in all the way up until the second round this year and i assume that's true for others and why there's going to be "disrespect" towards the other guy as part of the discussion

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I mean, with such reasonable takes as this, I wonder why people are coming out of the woodwork..

That's not a "take," it's the Occam's-razor conclusion of the analysis I posted above it. And if my analysis is mathy enough for you, there's this one about his performances in the playoffs, and this one about Fleury vs his backups.

First, so what if they do? That speaks to other intangible assets that a player brings to the table, in the locker room and in the community. You may not put any value on that, but people who operate hockey franchises clearly do.

That's not a real thing. People who operate hockey franchises also value "deterrence" despite the fact that it has been statistically proven not to exist, leading them to employ players in the NHL who would not even be good third-liners in the AHL. There's precedent for GMs believing in things that don't exist. Those things still don't exist.

People are obviously free to believe in those things and like them anyway, but it's kind of an invitation to get called out. It's like posting about ghosts in a forum for house flippers.

As to your second point, again, what do you expect when half of the people, including yourself, in the thread can't discuss one without rolling out broadside disrespect for the other? You point to this idea of "Oh, it's the Facebook fans!" but I don't see any of that crap on here, it's completely the other way. You're expecting people to read something like the two quotes posted above and ignore it, while simultaneously ignoring the exact same garbage posted in the MAF appreciation thread.

I never posted anything about "facebook fans," and I never posted a word about Murray in that moronic MAF thread, either. My posts in this thread were entirely about Murray until I brought out a single, specific response to a guy spamming up my Murray thread with Fleury crap.

You're drastically misrepresenting who I am as a poster. I'm not disrespecting Fleury because I think it builds Murray up. I'm disrespecting Fleury because I strongly dislike him as a player and I've wanted him gone for the past 5-7 years.

 

[HandshakeLine]

This is why we can't have nice things, kids.

Christ, I'd rather listen to Cole's Coldplay mix than read this ****.

 

[Coach Travis]

I had a really interesting conversation with Matt last Summer where I asked him "You had decent numbers in the OHL, then you went to the AHL and were breaking records and then to the NHL where you won a Cup... Isn't hockey supposed to be more difficult as you go along?" His reply (I'm paraphrasing) "In the OHL there isn't much focus or even teaching on defence so you're constantly dealing with broken plays and rebounds not getting cleared. In the pros, everyone is good at defending in the house so the play is a lot easier to read and even though the shots are a lot better, it's not as unpredictable."

 

[Zbynek]

I had a really interesting conversation with Matt last Summer where I asked him "You had decent numbers in the OHL, then you went to the AHL and were breaking records and then to the NHL where you won a Cup... Isn't hockey supposed to be more difficult as you go along?" His reply (I'm paraphrasing) "In the OHL there isn't much focus or even teaching on defence so you're constantly dealing with broken plays and rebounds not getting cleared. In the pros, everyone is good at defending in the house so the play is a lot easier to read and even though the shots are a lot better, it's not as unpredictable."

Beyond the "calming effect", Matthew Murray's greatest asset is that he is mature beyond his years.

 

[Peat]

Beyond the "calming effect", Matthew Murray's greatest asset is that he is mature beyond his years.

Except when trolling country stars

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

He's a phenomenal young goalie that could end up being one of the top-3 in the league for a long, long time. I think he's already close now, if he's not there already.

I'd still like to see him secure his glove side a bit more, and get quicker at going from post to post. He's not horrible in those areas, but they're definitely his weakest points. His calmness and fundamentals are already on par with the best in the league.

We really found a gem in Murray, man. I just hope he can stay healthy, because he's gonna be amazing for a long time.

 

[sf expat71]

This is why we can't have nice things, kids.

Christ, I'd rather listen to Cole's Coldplay mix than read this ****.

I'm feeling yellow too...

 

[Koempel]

This is why we can't have nice things, kids.

Christ, I'd rather listen to Cole's Coldplay mix than read this ****.

Always enjoy those two days after a cup win!