Player Discussion Matt Murray (G) - 4 years, $6.25M AAV

[aragorn]

Hopefully, over the next yr or so PD can fix this defence & then we can see what we have in net & whether this is the guy to take us to a SC or not, or if we have a goalie who is ready for prime time in the org.

On another note: when UND finally end their yr & Pinto signs with Ottawa, they could actually put together a decent line with - Formenton - L. Brown - Pinto.

After the 2021 draft:
Stutzle - Beniers/Johnson - Batherson
Tkachuk - Norris - C. Brown
Paul - White - Dadonov
Formenton - L. Brown - Pinto

 

[Emrasie]

Or Guenther - Stutzle - Batherson ?

 

[Xspyrit]

My casual (and perhaps not accurate) observation from an outside point of view is defense and center are positions that could be strengthened. You may have prospects that are ready to jump in and fill those roles though. I asked a question about this in another thread on this board. I don't think its a problem to have more options in those very important positions. Far better to have an abundance of options than the opposite.

Your observations are good, that's really the 2 weaknesses in the Sens lineup, particulary at center and also 2 big holes on defense with no #2 and no #3 after Chabot, which explains why the team is struggling defensively in some games. There's also several inexperienced players and not a lot of strong vets.

The good news is those are already potentially in the system

Logan Brown : still a big mystery, could pay off or end up somewhere else.
Tim Stutzle : will he be a Center? That basically changes everything
Shane Pinto : a guy that has started playing competitive hockey much older than others, has been progressive at an alarming rate.
Josh Norris : Already looks quite competent, will be quite competent
Nick Paul : I'd have him as my shutdown 3rd line center, he's smart and very good defensively, very good on face-offs
Colin White : struggling on face-offs, not everybody will get to play center so would be the logical choice to play on the Wing.

Who could fill the top-4 after Chabot?

Jake Sanderson : will be crucial for this team, could/should be an excellent #2
Artem Zub : already looks quite reliable, should be a good #3 or #4
Jacob Bernard-Docker : looks like a safe bet to be a 2nd pairing D-man
Tyler Kleven : could be a beast, looks good early
Erik Brannstrom : another safe bet to be a 2nd pairing D-man, needs to clean his game a bit, but is LD so there's already Chabot and Sanderson at that position.
Lassi Thomson : Belleville didn't play a lot of games but has been quite re-assuring so far, as to there's maybe something here. Good enough to be a 2nd pairing guy? Well, that remains to be seen.
Maxence Guenette : who knows with this guy? Has progressed well since being drafted

Zaitsev ain't bad but he's going on 30 y/o and ideally, you have at least 3 better D-men in front of him. There's also Wolanin who looked very promising 2 years ago but big injury + covid got him out of synch. I think he's going to have to re-prove himself somewhere else. If he's option, he's the guy I'd claim if I was Seattle.

 

[starling]

3 goals on 4 shots to start a game. That's one for the books.

 

[BloodRedArmy]

Had high hopes for Murray as a reclamation project. So far just terrible. 3 more years to go.

 

[Senscore]

There needs to be more rules with this dude.

If he lets in two in the first 10 minutes, pull him. Because he ain't coming back from that.

 

[TheDebater]

Murray is the worst best goalie we have ever had.

He won his cups early, it was a mistake signing him.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

I am going to go out on a limb here: Murray don't like hotel rooms during COVID19 times.

 

[Tuna99]

Is there a wolf where Dorion is a genius and this one a his plan:

“Matt, come to Ottawa I’ll give you the big contract. I need you to tank it for me for the first year so I can get that top pick and I’ll get you to Seattle so you can do the Mark André thingy he did with Vegas”

 

[DylanSensFan]

I am going to go out on a limb here: Murray don't like hotel rooms during COVID19 times.

judging by his record on the road, you could be on to something.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

He hasn't been great but our D is easily amongst the worst in the NHL.

I'm not giving up on him yet but I can't deny he's been disappointing.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I agree, we should probably not give up on anyone based on what happens this year.

Long lay off, no practices, completely new team for everyone, and this guy also has a new baby.

I’m hoping things settle down going forward (fingers crossed). Good year for a little bit of a let down though, why not add a few more shiney pieces at the draft

 

[bicboi64]

I don't think this guy will ever be a game changer for us the way Andy could be. God I miss how aggressive Andy played, Murray is much less athletic. Having said that, I don't think the term is completely crap, he's definitely tradeable, but he's worth keeping around until we get an NHL quality D as oppose to what we have right now

 

[Samboni]

I’m not a fan of Murray as , IMO, his success in Pittsburgh was the result of strong teams playing in front of him. I think he should be exposed in the expansion draft but I doubt that Seattle takes him.

 

[topshelf15]

So we have a our backup.....Daccord needs to play a few more games,start him next game and see where that goes

 

[Back in Black]

I’m not a fan of Murray as , IMO, his success in Pittsburgh was the result of strong teams playing in front of him. I think he should be exposed in the expansion draft but I doubt that Seattle takes him.

Does anyone miss Anderson???

 

[Stuzchuk]

I’m not a fan of Murray as , IMO, his success in Pittsburgh was the result of strong teams playing in front of him. I think he should be exposed in the expansion draft but I doubt that Seattle takes him.

I was not a fan of this trade and sign eith from the get go... maybe OTT can add an incentive for SEA to take him? 2nd-2021 (TB) & 3rd-2022 (OTT)?

 

[topshelf15]

I was not a fan of this trade and sign eith from the get go... maybe OTT can add an incentive for SEA to take him? 2nd-2021 (TB) & 3rd-2022 (OTT)?

At this point just keep him as the backup,and hopefully he can regain some sort of value..If Seattle doesnt take him

 

[Crosside]

Murray not the problem. No goalie can perform when the team play bad. When we do the playoff , it s there we see the importance to have Murray

 

[SpezDispenser]

At this point just keep him as the backup,and hopefully he can regain some sort of value..If Seattle doesnt take him

Certainty, if he doesnt work it's a small enough cap hit that he could be an expensive backup. It happens. It's our only bad contract.

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

Murray strings together a few good games: Murray's good! He's not as bad as everyone is saying! He's turning a corner!
Murray has a bad game: Murray sucks! He's the worst goalie we've ever had! Play Hogberg/Daccord/Insert Name Here

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. He doesn't make as many big saves as Andy did. He hasn't stolen us games like Andy did. But Andy didn't have to put up with a defense quite so reprehensible for most of his time here, and when our defense was at its worst, Andy was at his worst.

A couple of the goals last night were bad. But we're not doing ourselves any favours either. He should've had the Dube goal, but our defense shouldn't have given up back-to-back 2-on-1's on the Ritchie goal. He should've had the Leivo goal, but our defense shouldn't have let Monahan walk in unopposed. Murray needs to be better, there's no denying it. But this is a comedy of errors, not simply on Murray. That we're looking at Daccord, who allowed 3 on 18, and thinking 'Maybe he's our guy!' is not a good sign.

I think a rising tide lifts all boats. If our defense can tighten up, Murray, and the rest of the goalies will improve with them.

 

[Stylizer1]

Does anyone miss Anderson???

View attachment 403555

no.

 

[Xspyrit]

As I have said before, the goalie this team needed was M-A Fleury, a guy that will randomly stand his head but is more risky overall as you don't know what you'll get (think playoffs in his career)

With the type of mystery box this team is, they needed a "miracle" goalie type, not a steady one. Think about the games we played solid enough and Murray was there, making the saves, calmed and composed.

Murray has a 0.909 SV% at home because Ottawa is a decent team at home but putrid on the road where he has 0.834 SV%

If you can't see the cause and effect link here, I don't know what to tell you. Murray will be the image of the team in front of him. You play strong, he'll be strong. You play poorly, he'll be poor. Just a solid goalie for a stable playoffs team but not a "rebuilding team" type goalie. Some teams could really use him but with the AAV Dorion gave him, we'd need to take a significant contract in return.

 

[BigRig4]

I think Murray is a victim of them shrinking the pads a few years ago to contour a players' frame. All the string-bean goalies have sucked since then. He doesn't take up enough space.

 

[DueDiligence]

Josh Norris : Already looks quite competent, will be quite competent

Norris is incompetent defensively. Go watch tape on the Flames ' 2nd and 5th goals of last night's game.