Murray and Pouliot among several Pittsburgh Penguins prospects to have big 2014-15 se

[HF Article]

Photo: Derek Pouliot split his season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring 7 points in 34 games with the big club. (Courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)


</p>Several prospects for the Pittsburgh Penguins had breakout seasons. The most notable was defensive prospect Derrick Pouliot, who established early on that he was capable of handling steady NHL playing time. However, rookie goaltender Matt Murray came in a close second, as he broke several AHL records and looks poised to one day take over the goaltending reins in Pittsburgh.

Also, for the first time in a while, the Penguins have several forward prospects who have proven themselves in their respective leagues and should push for NHL jobs next fall.… read more

The post Murray and Pouliot among several Pittsburgh Penguins prospects to have big 2014-15 seasons appeared first on Hockey's Future.



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[Honour Over Glory]

Matt Murray is a Goalie God in the AHL.

 

[#66]

If anyone has gone to those Pens prospects game... Murray is no surprise. Big, moves well and composed. Im interested to see how Jarrys coming along.

 

[gopens66]

I know the article said, "not yet," but is there any chance Murray challenges for back-up next season? Key word being "challenges." Do the Pens really re-sign Greiss?

 

[Pancakes]

I know the article said, "not yet," but is there any chance Murray challenges for back-up next season? Key word being "challenges." Do the Pens really re-sign Greiss?

I suppose anything is possible but as gaudy as his numbers were there is no reason to rush him. Give him another year or two in the AHL to start a lot of games. There's no hurry with how MAF is playing, and Murray is our starter of the future so we don't want to rush him up just to be a backup and then watch him struggle.

 

[gopens66]

I suppose anything is possible but as gaudy as his numbers were there is no reason to rush him. Give him another year or two in the AHL to start a lot of games. There's no hurry with how MAF is playing, and Murray is our starter of the future so we don't want to rush him up just to be a backup and then watch him struggle.

Yeah, he's only 20, so there's no rush. I was thinking more of cap-wise for the big club. He really should get a season or two more under his belt in the A.

 

[Pancakes]

Yeah, he's only 20, so there's no rush. I was thinking more of cap-wise for the big club. He really should get a season or two more under his belt in the A.

Cap wise it could help I guess but it's just not worth it. Need Murray to keep getting starts and develop. He'll be first in line for a call up should MAF and/or whoever our backup is gets hurt, so if the worst happens and one of our goalies get hurt we might get to see him get a few starts this year in the NHL. That could be cool.

 

[Shady Machine]

I know the article said, "not yet," but is there any chance Murray challenges for back-up next season? Key word being "challenges." Do the Pens really re-sign Greiss?

I hope they just roll with Zatkoff. Fleury has proven himself this year and Zatkoff can be fine in a back up roll playing 15 games. Call up Murray for a few games if he continues to dominate in the AHL next year.

 

[wej20]

Fleury's a 60 game starter so having Murray as backup doesn't make sense, have after another year in the AHL you could consider putting him in as the NHL backup.

 

[Cherpak]

Fleury's a 60 game starter so having Murray as backup doesn't make sense, have after another year in the AHL you could consider putting him in as the NHL backup.

Yep. I don't want Murray sitting on the bench behind Fleury. Let the kid play in WBS and gain valuable playing time. He has had a amazing rookie season but I'm not in hurry to interrupt his development. Maybe a call up for a few games in September if he shows promise in training camp.

 

[Gallatin]

Put Zatcoff on the bench behind the Flower and call Murray up on 2/3 day visits to take half the backup starts.

 

[warcum71]

murray could be the goalie we have been waiting for. a goalie that can actually play consistently well when the pressure is on and can steal playoff games when needed. fluery does not posess these qualities. barasso did for a time. fluery has always been overhyped. would be a good move to trade him if murray is the real deal.

 

[billybudd]

I know the article said, "not yet," but is there any chance Murray challenges for back-up next season? Key word being "challenges." Do the Pens really re-sign Greiss?

Challenges? He's better than Zatkoff in the A, so it's likely that he would outperform him on the next level as a backup.

The issue is, if he's thought to be a starter-caliber goalie some day, wouldn't it be preferable for him to get a bunch of starts in the AHL than to backup an NHL goaltender who plays a lot of games and never gets hurt?

murray could be the goalie we have been waiting for. a goalie that can actually play consistently well when the pressure is on and can steal playoff games when needed. fluery does not posess these qualities. barasso did for a time. fluery has always been overhyped. would be a good move to trade him if murray is the real deal.

Dude, just stop. I've been as skeptical of Fleury as anybody, but there's nothing to rip him over in the last two years.

 

[TNT87]

Cap wise it could help I guess but it's just not worth it. Need Murray to keep getting starts and develop. He'll be first in line for a call up should MAF and/or whoever our backup is gets hurt, so if the worst happens and one of our goalies get hurt we might get to see him get a few starts this year in the NHL. That could be cool.

I completely agree. Why waste him sitting on the bench? It does nothing for his development.

 

[Rico Fatastic]

Murray is probably going to be ready to start in the NHL before Fleury needs to be replaced and indeed before his current contract expires. And since it seems pretty clear that Fleury will never be traded and will be a Penguin for as long as he wants to, that leaves Murray to either waste away in the AHL for longer than is productive (while blocking Jarry's development as well) or to serve as Fleury's overqualified backup for half a decade or more. Either way, we wouldn't even be coming close to maximizing his value. He'll be most useful to the organization as a trade piece, if not this offseason, then at the trade deadline or next offseason.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Murray is probably going to be ready to start in the NHL before Fleury needs to be replaced and indeed before his current contract expires. And since it seems pretty clear that Fleury will never be traded and will be a Penguin for as long as he wants to, that leaves Murray to either waste away in the AHL for longer than is productive (while blocking Jarry's development as well) or to serve as Fleury's overqualified backup for half a decade or more. Either way, we wouldn't even be coming close to maximizing his value. He'll be most useful to the organization as a trade piece, if not this offseason, then at the trade deadline or next offseason.

The only way he'll ever get any value as a trade chip is to play actual NHL games first.

 

[Rico Fatastic]

The only way he'll ever get any value as a trade chip is to play actual NHL games first.

No, that's how he would maximize his trade value. But I'm sure he has decent value right now having been the best goaltender in the AHL as a 20 year old rookie.

 

[MrBurghundy]

No, that's how he would maximize his trade value. But I'm sure he has decent value right now having been the best goaltender in the AHL as a 20 year old rookie.

Who was the last rookie to hold those records he broke?

He may have value, but not enough to make it worth trading him. At the end of the day, he's still a prospect that hasn't proven anything yet, and teams aren't going to pay for him unless they know he can produce at the NHL level. Especially considering his position where any mistake is magnified. It's not like he's a forward who can afford to be wildly inconsistent because he's still young.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Trading Murray would be beyond dumb. Keep Jarry, too. The worst thing would be to deal Murray and then witness Fleury reverting back to pre-2014-15 form (inconsistent, bad in the playoffs). And it COULD happen. We may not be as good next year, we may have growing pains, and most importantly we may have to open up offensively a bit more to get the offense going...and that could adversely affect Fleury.

We should keep the kids. At least until we're positively convinced Fleury is cured.

As for next year's backup, we should try one of the KHL goalies: Koshechkin would be my target. He's MASSIVE and has been great in that league for a long time. Anders Nilsson also has intriguing upside.

 

[Rico Fatastic]

Who was the last rookie to hold those records he broke?

Wade Dubielewicz. He was 25 years old. The two aren't remotely comparable. Anyone who wants to spend an hour or two on Google is welcome to correct me if I'm mistaken, but I suspect Matt Murray probably just had the best 20 year-old rookie season in the AHL of any goaltender. That counts for something. The fact that he has NHL size and passes the eye test as well helps an awful lot too.

He may have value, but not enough to make it worth trading him. At the end of the day, he's still a prospect that hasn't proven anything yet, and teams aren't going to pay for him unless they know he can produce at the NHL level. Especially considering his position where any mistake is magnified. It's not like he's a forward who can afford to be wildly inconsistent because he's still young.

Admittedly, goaltender doesn't seem to be the most valuable position these days, particularly amongst prospects. But I'm not saying we should trade him just for the sake of trading him. If we can use him (likely in a package) to acquire a scoring line winger or move into the first round of the draft, I hope none of the Council of 9 or the HF Brain Trust would hesitate on Murray's account. But if all he's worth is more "experience," then you keep him until someone gets desperate or he further improves his value.

Trading Murray would be beyond dumb. Keep Jarry, too. The worst thing would be to deal Murray and then witness Fleury reverting back to pre-2014-15 form (inconsistent, bad in the playoffs). And it COULD happen. We may not be as good next year, we may have growing pains, and most importantly we may have to open up offensively a bit more to get the offense going...and that could adversely affect Fleury.

We should keep the kids. At least until we're positively convinced Fleury is cured.

We're never going to be "positively convinced" that Fleury is completely cured. He's had too many playoffs that were too awful to ever completely erase any doubts. There's no way to eliminate all risk in professional sports. But you have to balance the risk that Fleury turns crappy again against the risk that Murray regresses next year and ends up a career backup or AHL journeyman. There's risk either way, but at least we'd still have Jarry, with a chance to develop properly as an AHL starter for a few years, to somewhat mitigate the risk of Fleury failing. So no, if you can get good value for him, trading Murray would be the farthest thing from "beyond dumb."

 

[Jag68Sid87]

We're never going to be "positively convinced" that Fleury is completely cured. He's had too many playoffs that were too awful to ever completely erase any doubts. There's no way to eliminate all risk in professional sports. But you have to balance the risk that Fleury turns crappy again against the risk that Murray regresses next year and ends up a career backup or AHL journeyman. There's risk either way, but at least we'd still have Jarry, with a chance to develop properly as an AHL starter for a few years, to somewhat mitigate the risk of Fleury failing. So no, if you can get good value for him, trading Murray would be the farthest thing from "beyond dumb."

I'm one of the biggest Fleury bashers on this board. And if No. 29 can have another season in 2015-16 like the one he JUST had, playoffs included, then I'd be prepared to declare him cured and would have no more reservations about him. If he has a repeat performance, then I'm prepared to suggest Mike Bales cured what ailed him...and he probably needed a Bales all along.

What this organization needs more than anything else is to ADD to its prospect pool and get younger on the roster. So the preference is to deal veterans for picks/prospects. Dealing Murray would be down the list of players/assets to deal, at least for me.

Of course, Rutherford will deal Murray way before he deals Kunitz. Just cuz that's how we roll.

 

[lastcupever75]

Call up Murray for a few games if he continues to dominate in the AHL next year.

this. reward the kid for playing so well by letting him see some action with the big club while being the main guy in minors