Penguins won't face former goaltender Matt Murray on Thursday
Matt Murray’s return to Pittsburgh will have to wait.
At least as far him being on the ice in a game is concerned.
The Ottawa Senators goaltender, who led the Penguins to their two most recent Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and ’17, will not be in net for Thursday’s game at PPG Paints Arena.
Senators coach D.J. Smith told media Wednesday in Ottawa that Murray would not be able to play because of an undisclosed illness not related to covid-19 that has impacted the Ottawa roster as of late. He was not expected to travel with the team Wednesday in advance of the contest.
“I know he wanted to play against Pittsburgh,” Smith said. “He talked to (goaltending coach Zach Bierk) about getting in there to play against Pittsburgh. It’s unfortunate it’s going around. (Senators defenseman Nick Holden) had this a little bit. Now, (Murray) a little bit of sickness. There’s nothing you can do.”
Never a paragon of durability, Murray already has missed nine games this season because of covid-19, a separate illness not related to covid-19 and a neck injury. He also has been a healthy scratch for three games.
Because of poor play, he was waived in late November. After the NHL’s 31 other teams declined to put a claim in on Murray and his $6.25 million salary cap hit, he was assigned to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League and spent a month with that club before being recalled by late December.
Limited to nine NHL games this season, Murray has a 2-6-0 record along with a 3.41 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.
Playing in Pittsburgh as a visitor for the first time would have been a rare positive moment during an otherwise poor season for Murray.
“(Murray) just wanted to get it over with and have an opportunity to play in front of those fans,” Smith said. “I’m sure that they would have had a nice tribute (video presentation) for him coming back after doing what he helped them do there.”
The Penguins dealt Murray to the Senators in October of 2020. With Murray and fellow goaltender Tristan Jarry each scheduled to become restricted free agents at the time, the Penguins, who were operating with limited salary cap space, opted to trade Murray to the Senators for a handful of future assets.
With the NHL operating with schedules limited to division opponents last season, Murray was unable to play the Penguins during his first campaign with the Senators.
A third-round pick (No. 83 overall) in 2012, Murray quickly rose through the Penguins’ organization and supplanted franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury as the starting goaltender before winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
The bonds forged by that success remain intact.
“I have so much respect for Matt and what he’s accomplished in this league, what he accomplished as a Pittsburgh Penguin,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He was a big part of the Stanley Cup championships that we won here. He’s a great teammate, he’s a good person. We went through a lot together. … Matt and I have been through a lot over the years. I have so much respect for Matt and what he’s accomplished. Quite honestly, I root for him from a distance, obviously, when he’s not playing against the Penguins. He’s a guy that I care about. He’s a good person.”
With Murray sidelined, the Senators on Tuesday recalled goaltender Filip Gustavsson, a second-round pick (No. 55 overall) by the Penguins in 2016.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.